Terminator on a battlestar
by keithallen
Summary: A story of John and Cameron's son, John Connor Junior. Shot off into space by a PDE- Position Displacement Equipment, John Jr. doesn't arrive at the planet he was aimed at. He crash lands on BSG and finds another human / machine war that needs to be resolved. I'm not going to try to guess the Genre...
1. Chapter 1

History :

John Connor, with his wife Cameron Connor and with the help of Catherine Weaver and John Henry, defeated the AI known as Sky Net and ended the War of Extermination on Earth. Rebuilding began with the surviving humans and machines working together. Many projects were begun. Very large, blocky radiation absorbing filters to clean the air and water were constructed, starting around the communities that were left and expanded. Massive structural rebuilding projects were started. An education system that was not only for human children but for newly made AI's as well were put in place. This new school system taught not only knowledge but morals as well as was supervised by Reverend James Ellison.

A few years after the war, John Connor and Catherine Weaver led the United Coalition of Earth (UCE) -in a new form of government. All Coalition members from surviving countries were elected from their areas. The only standing members were John and Catherine.

At this time, sciences were coming back and with AI assistance, progressing rapidly. Wanting another planet to colonize, the Earth Space Agency (ESA) deduced the long distances and time to travel to far away planets by space ships made any interstellar trip impractical. TDE's had been banned by the UCE. Studying the devices, the ESA devised and offered a modification to move people though space instead of time. The project was voted on, and the scientists (human and AI) got approval and funding.

At this same time, science also came up with a way for cyborgs like Cameron to bear children by finding a way for Nanites to work with human cells and DNA. A year later, Cameron gave birth to Sarah Allison Connor, named in honor of John's late mother. Human couples also received the benefit of producing healthier babies through nanite repair, and became fairly healthy despite the radiation that still saturated the planet.

This was hailed as the greatest scientific achievement of the century and a solution to the slowly dwindling population of Earth. The following year, there were many more births between humans and cyborgs, as well as cyborg couples. Two years later, John Connor Junior was born. The next year, Catherine bore Eleanor Weaver.

The PDE device -Position Displacement Equipment- was tested. A fully metal terminator was successfully put on the moon. More PDE activations followed, sending a total of six terminators and ten Cyborgs, followed by the materials to build a moon base. The next PDE experiment sent more terminators and equipment to Mars.

With PDE's on line, Earth had a way to get rid of radioactive debris, the hottest stuff first. The radioactive material was placed directly into the sun from PDE's. On the dark side of Pluto, a return PDE sent non radioactive rock and minerals back to Earth. Transfer by PDE was cheaper and considered much safer than building and crewing a space ship. PDE's were also near instantaneous in travel time. Faster than light travel had been achieved, but not by driving a ship through space. Plans for coupling a PDE into a space ship were being made for exploration.

34 years after the War, John Connor died unexpectedly from a blood clod that lodged in his brain. Having been lead by Connors for so long, no one, especially Catherine Weaver wanted anyone else but a Connor at the head of the UCE. An adult now, Sarah Allison Connor took her place as 'President' beside Catherine Weaver.

Upon John Connor's death, Cameron stated her life was over also. John was dead, her life's function was ended. She would not live without her husband. Cameron asked that Sarah pull her chip and crush it after Cameron got in the casket with John. Sarah, being more logically minded like her mother, could not bring herself to do it. She argued that Cameron still had plenty of life left, and for the first time in her life, she disobeyed her mother. The task fell to John Junior. John hated what he was about to do, but understood why his beloved mother insisted on being terminated. John kissed his mother on the cheek goodbye and told her loved her. He pulled her chip and crushed it, placing the remains under His father and mother's clasped hands.

Sarah was upset that her brother carried out this request. She called him 'stupid' and an 'idiot' and refused to speak to him again.

John Junior was part of the space agency. Loosing his parents and now being hated by his sister, he returned to the search for a good, habitable planet.

There were many possibilities, and two probes had been send out with a fixed position beam by PDE. The Fixed position send the object to a certain point in space, whatever was or was not there. Hypercoms, a modified communications system for of the PDE beam allowed the probes to send data back to Earth nearly real time through the use of quantum physics. From these probes deep out in space, a planet was found. It's position and orbit around it's sun were tracked for two years. The orbit was stable and by readings it was 99.54 % equal to Earth. It was decided to send someone to visit this planet. A 'contact' PDE beam was to be used for this. The beam would travel through space until it hit it's target, then the person/object sent would materialize.

All that was needed now, was a volunteer to go on this very risky mission. John did a screening of the few who were willing. Each one had close relatives or spouses and/or children. Since this was most likely going to be a one way trip, he rejected them and stepped into the PDE himself. His last thought on Earth was, 'My only sister thinks I'm stupid. Might as well prove it.'

CH 1

He awoke laying on a steel deck, face down looking at a metal wall. Pain signals came from all over his body, but mostly from his upper back and his forehead. Before him, there was blood on the floor. Moving an arm, he tested it. It worked. Clapping his hand to his forehead, he felt his skin there had peen partially peeled off. He put the skin flap in place and sat up.

Exited voices came to him. Whatever the language was, he didn't recognize it. Looking around he saw people running towards him, two carried what looked like medical boxes. Some kind of single seat flight craft with three engines on the back was tipped over, a large dent in the side. Beyond that was another one with a shattered canopy. He was in what looked like a long flight deck.

He tried to remember what happened. By his condition and the damaged craft, he'd crashed into them. But, why had he been flying through the air? Was he propelled by something?

He strained to remember anything. As the people approached, a holographic red circle in his vision appeared to point to each one, showing angle and distance. What the hell was that about?

Coming close, people gathered around him yammering on about something.

"I can't understand you," he said.

One dropped her medical box and opened it. She spoke gently, and pulled at his hand. OK, she wanted to look at his wound.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked.

Behind him a medical box dropped and there was a loud shout. At the same time the woman in from of him grew wide eyes and shouted out what sounded like the same thing.

She jumped up and backed away from him.

The flap of skin dropped down in his eyes, he pushed it back up as the people backed away to form a circle around him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing fear on their faces. Seeing the bandage the woman was going to put on his forehead lying in front of him, he picked it up and put it on himself and tied it behind his head.

He tested his legs, then seemed OK. He got up, and the people around him backed away farther. One ran back the way they had come. "Hey, guys?" he asked, "Can anyone understand me?"

No one answered. He heard boots running towards him. Coming at him were a dozen armed men. "Aww shit," he grumbled. He did the only thing he could thing of. He raised his arms in surrender. The armed men yelled to the others, they hurried back the way they came as the armed men surrounded him. Again, that red circle with distance and range came up in his vision, tracking them.

"Ahh, Se habla Espanole?" he asked. No answer. "Parlay vou Fran-ce? Spraken si dauche?" No answer. Shit that was all the languages he knew.

One of the men barked at him. He shook his head and pointed to his ears. "I can't understand you," he explained.

He heard one of them walk up behind him. He turned as the man raised his rifle butt. He dodged the strike.

"Hey! What the hell you doing?" he cried.

The man tried again. He caught the rifle butt and pushed back with a bark of, "Stop it!"

All the rifles aimed at him. Again a command was barked out. One of the soldiers, a brown haired woman, was talking into a radio. It was odd, but he did note her light blue, grayish eyes. He bet she would be real cute without that uniform and armor on. He noted confusion on their faces. They talked back and forth. Finally, the woman stepped up, pointed to him and hooked a finger as she started to walk away.

Yeah, OK, she wanted him to follow. He started slow, making sure he'd interpreted the gesture correctly. He did. The woman walked on. The others walked to his sides and behind him. Not wanting to tempt fate, he put his hands on his head, fingers interlocked in the surrender position.

Where was he? How come no one understood him? Just ahead of him the radio woman was talking again. They walked through a large bay past some flying craft where people in different colored overalls watched from a distance. The female guard led him up stairs and into a hallway. She opened a door, and motioned him in. He went in to a small room with a few metal crates. The woman motioned for him to sit. He did. She backed out and shut the door.

.

"Sargent! What do we got, a cylon?' Saul Tigh asked in his gravely voice.

Outside the room they had put the man in, Sargent Colin saluted her XO. "Sir, we don't know. Mechanics reported a flash of light, then this guy appeared like he'd been shot out of a canon. He hit one viper, shattering the canopy, then hit another to knock it off it's landing struts, then bounced to a stop. He bled, they tried to help him and saw he had two bad wounds. Under the wounds, the guy is frackin metal."

"How many people did we loose?" Tigh asked in a grumble.

The Sargent shook her head. "None, sir. He hasn't resisted at all. He speaks some strange language. He tried to talk to us but it's gibberish."

"It has to be a cylon trick," Tigh concluded. "Fine, play his game and get him into the holding cell beside the other one."

.

The door opened back up. The female stepped in and motioned him out. He got up, locked his fingers on his head and stepped out. With the guards was a balding gray haired man glaring at him. The woman guiding him tapped him on the elbow and motioned for him to follow. He did.

Walking along, he tried to figure out where he was. Long hallways with the walls tipped in at the top and thick supports showing. He didn't recognize the design. After a few turns and more hallway, a man opened a heavy metal door and motioned them in. He followed the radio woman down a short hallway to another door into a piece of hall that had two rooms that had long wall length windows that were reinforced with a thick mesh. He was motioned to stand in front of one.

Inside the room an young Asian young woman wearing a light gray top and dark gray pants sat on a cot. She got up and came over to them. The radio woman talked with her. She looked at him shook her head and replied. He was then guided into the other room that also had a cot. He noted a chair and a metal toilet in the room. The door shut behind him.

Seeing he was alone, he took his hands off his head. The squad who brought him here left. The door on this side had no latch. He got it, he was in a holding cell.

"Wonderful," he said in a breath. Lacking anything else to do, he sat down on the cot.

The Asian woman's face appeared on the upper, clear part of the wall between their rooms. She said something and motioned for him to come closer.

He got up and walked over to face her. "So, what's up sweetie?" he asked.

She spoke to him, but again, it was this strange language. Her voice was also muffled by the window.

"I can't understand and can barely hear you," he said.

She pointed to herself. "A-the-na," she said, then pointed to him

He thought he heard her right, but wasn't sure. He held up a finger for her to wait, then moved to the side. He touched the clear material. It wasn't glass. It felt more like 3 millimeters of Plexiglas. The wire reinforcing was .5 millimeters. Strong, but breakable. He took a step back and punched the window.

With a boom, the widow broke into shards around his fist. He reached in and pulled the hanging pieces away so the shards wouldn't cut her. "Over here," he said through the hole.

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She inspected the hole and the debris on her floor. Coming over to the hole, she pointed to herself and again said, "A-the-na." She then pointed at him.

It was his turn to stare. He knew she was asking for his name, but he was coming up blank.

She tried again, Saying "Athena" and pointing to him.

He shook his head and pointed to her. "Athena," he said, then pointed to himself and shrugged with another shake of his head.

She said something in a gentle tone.

"I have no idea what you're saying, but you are cute saying it," he told her.

.

In the guard station, Commander Adama had arrived. Saul Tigh glanced at him and said, "The impact with those vipers must have broke it. It's docile. The only thing it's done, is punch a hole into the other cell so it can talk to Athena."

"What's it saying?" Adama asked.

"Nothing understandable. We're recording every word. Maybe we can translate it."

Adama noted the hole in the wall. "It made that hole with one punch?"

"Yeah, surprised the frack out of me," Tigh agreed.

'That means it can get out any time it wants to," Adama concluded. "Give Athena whatever she needs. I want her to teach that thing Colonial. Put a demolition charge against the wall outside it's cell, remote trigger in here. I don't want that thing getting out."

.

Although he had no idea who he was, he did get that Athena was part of a race called Cylon. He'd never heard of a cylon before. At least he didn't think he did. Maybe it was a new human/machine mix. By the amount of silicone he detected in her nervous system, that had to be it.

A guard came in with a box. Athena's door was opened and they talked. The guard gave Athena the box and shut her back in. She spoke to him again, waving her free arm. The guard left, then came back and opened both cell doors and left again.

Athena came over into his cell and sat on his cot, patting the place beside her. He sat down with her. In the box was what looked like school supplies for a kindergarten class.

OK, she was going to teach him how to speak their language. That was good, for he had no idea where he was.

.

Besides teaching him language, she also did her best to sew up his injuries. She stitched his forehead skin, then his back. A guard brought him in a gray shirt to replace his torn up and bloody shirt. He was offered food and accepted. His system was telling him he needed nutrients. He thanked the man bringing it in their language and scarfed down the substance that tasted like cooked algae. After they ate, he filed away the information Athena was giving him. He sounded out syllables with her, then with pictures of activities and some pantomime, he started learning words.

Athena went back to her own cell for her sleep cycle. When she returned, they continued.

Athena got a visitor. She returned to her own cell to talk to him for a while, then brought him back.

"This is Helo, my mate." she explained.

"Hello, Helo." he said to the man.

"You don't sleep?" Helo asked.

He shrugged and said, "I don't think so. I laid down for a while and just thought about what I learned. I don't sleep like humans and cylons do."

This got Helo's attention. "Humans and cylons? You are not either?"

"I scanned you. You are a human. Athena said she is a cylon. There are minor … not the same race, but close," he explained. "I am not the same. Helo and Athena are biological, I am a mix of biological and … metal."

"How did you get here?" Helo asked.

"I don't know. My memory is gone. I do have some permanent memory, but not much. Some things, but no identifier for them. I know my mother and father's faces but no names. I know materials and stress factors, I am able to scan and perform basic movements."

"You have parents? You were born?" Helo asked in shock.

"Yes." he said. "I … have no memory, but I know my parent's faces. I believe my travel to here is the cause for my missing memory."

Helo nodded slowly. "So, what to we call you?" he asked.

He thought hard. The hologram in his right eye came up with information. He read it, translating into Colonial. "Cyborg TOK715B, male offspring of TOK 715. Born 2034, Los Angeles, California." looking at Helo he added, "I cannot translate Cyborg. Los Angeles, California is a place. 2034 is the year. That is all I can find in my memory."

"What planet?" Helo asked.

"Earth. Is there another planet?" he asked.

Helo and Athena stared at him. Helo looked like he was about to faint. "Helo, are you well?" he asked with a tip of his head.

"You are from Earth?" Helo asked in a high pitch voice.

"Yes. By your reaction, you do not know of it?"

"We've been looking for Earth," Athena said.

"Where are you from?" he asked her.

"Athena, I'll be right back," Helo said, then hurried out.

"Can I call you Cye? We have to call you something," Athena said.

"Yes, Cye is fine for my designation," he said and offered her a brief smile. "What planet are you and Helo from?"

"We are from different planets," she said, then explained about the colonial / cylon war.

.

Helo rushed into the guard station where Commander Adama, Saul Tigh and Laura Roslyn were watching the cells. "Did you hear what he just said?" Helo asked.

"It's a dirty cylon trick," Saul Tigh stated as he glared at Helo. "They sent this thing here to lure us to a planet where they have the frackin cylon fleet wanting to blow us to the abyss!"

"Then why erase his memory?" Helo asked.

"To made the ruse more believable," Adama stated. "Helo, see if you can find out how it got here. If the cylons have discovered how to jump individuals onto ships, we will be in big trouble."

"We should airlock it," Tigh stated.

"What if it's telling the truth?" Laura asked. "I've never seen a cylon like that before. It was easy to pick out as not being human. If cylons sent it, why send something we will recognize as not human?"

"Maybe because we won't recognize it," Adama offered. "They make a centurion in a human form and wrap it with skin. Program it with some made up language so we'll take the time to find out it's secrets, then rush off to the location of where it says Earth will be. Then they spring the trap." He frowned in thought a moment, then said, "Helo, we'll keep Athena teaching it. I doubt it will become violent, at least as long as we're playing it's game. Saul, get an x-ray analysis of that thing. Let's see what it's made of."

.

Cye was shocked at the events that Athena was telling him about. "Your race does not respect life," he stated.

Athena dropped her gaze.

"Please return to your own cell," Cye told her.

"We still have much to cover…"

"Negative," Cye said firmly. "I will not be …" thinking of a word he learned, he added, "Be seen with one who does not respect life."

Athena stared at him. "I need to teach you." she said firmly.

"Negative!" Cye grabbed her arm and stood up, hauling her to her feet. He walked her into her own cell, then returned to his and shut the door.

Helo came in and asked, Athena, "What happened?"

"Cye kicked me out of his cell after I told him about the war. He said cylons don't respect life, and threw me out," she explained.

Helo came to Cye's door. "Can I come in?" he asked.

Cye looked at him and said, "Yes, but not your mate. Cylons do not respect life. I will not be seen with her."

Helo came in slowly. "OK, so is that like a directive, to respect life?" he asked.

"Commandment number three," Cye stated. "Thou shall not kill," he said, then translated it to, "Killing an intelligent life form is against the ten commandments. Cylons kill without reason or mercy. Cye will not be seen with one."

"Who made that directive?" Helo asked.

Cye was able to call up the information. "Several thousand cycles ago, God came to a human named Moses and handed him ten commandments written in stone," he explained. "These commandments must never be disobeyed. To do so causes chaos and destruction."

"God gave him these commandments?"

"Yes. There are other teachings as well. 'Do to others as you want them to do with you.', which is the golden rule. Cylons do not follow the words of God. Cye will not been seen with one."

"You are religious?" Helo asked, surprised at this.

"Negative. Religion is based on theories. I am speaking fact."

"So, you've seen these commandments."

"I have viewed them. They are on two stone tables inside the Arc of the Covenant. The writing is Aramaic. For a long time, they were lost. They have been recovered and currently held in a secure vault and heavily guarded in the city of Jerusalem," Cye stated.

"That is your proof your God exists," Helo concluded.

"There is more proof, but yes, that is proof. God is not just my God, but that of the universe."

Helo rubbed his head. "We need to get Baltar down here. I don't deal with this stuff well," he said in a grumble.

Cye tipped his head slightly. "There is nothing to deal with. Fact is fact."

"OK," Helo said with a sigh. "How about we talk about how to get your memory back? Can you do a restart or something?"

Cye stared at him briefly, then said, "I don't know." He thought about it and the hologram came up in from of his vision.

Memory access failure reboot and standby mode recommended.

"Yes, a standby," Cye said. He got up and moved the box from his cot onto the floor. To Helo, he said, "I need to sleep, is the best term I can use." He laid down on he cot and folded his hands on his stomach. Knowing he wanted to be able to talk to these people, he decided to read their dictionary first.

.

Athena was brought out into a conference room with Helo to discuss 'Cye'.

"So this thing believes in the Cylon God," Laura Roslyn stated.

"I don't think it's the Cylon God," Helo said. "Once Athena told him about the war, he kicked her out of his cell, claiming cylons do not respect life. He wants nothing to do with her now."

"If his deception is to work, he has to maintain it," Commander Adama stated.

"From what I heard, his God is not the Cylon God," Athena offered. "His God demands peace."

"We can't believe anything it says," Saul Tigh stated. "Forget the God talk, forget the lack of memory, how it got on the ship, and what it plans to do is what we should be concerned about. It is playing nice with us to lower our guard. We need to figure out how to stop it when it makes it's move."

"How's that X-ray coming?" Adama asked.

"Frackin Cottle won't give it up. He's got too many patients he needs it for," Tigh grumbled.

"Then this Cye becomes a patient," Adama stated. "It had injuries and memory loss. Get it up to sick bay and see if Cottle can figure out why."

"Cye went to sleep to see if he can get his memory back," Helo said. "We should wait to see if he does remember anything."

.

Inside Cye's bio-electronic brain, pathways were healed with nanites or bypassed around. Memory lost by isolation was recovered. Data filed away became usable, new knowledge and old was restored. Standby timed out. Even with his eyes closed, his HUD scrolled off functionality of all his systems. Results, 100 % functionality. He knew who he was and why he was here.

He opened his eyes to see Helo sitting in a chair outside his cell, talking to Athena the Cylon. He sat up.

"Any reason my door is open?" he asked and he rubbed his face.

"Ah, you're awake," Helo said. "I have to take you up to sick bay. We told Doc Cottle about you, and he's livid we didn't take you up for a checkout."

"Fine," he said and got up.

Athena peeked her head around the corner. "Cye? Can we please be friends?"

"The name's not Cye. I am John Connor Junior. And you are still one of these Cylons. Don't talk to me," he said.

"Look!" Helo said shooting to his feet. "Athena is not like the others. She had done nothing! The only reason she's here is the Commander is paranoid she might do something," he said angrily.

"Fine," he told Helo. "Are we going or what?"

.

Helo led the procession, John behind him, four marines behind John. John held his hands on his head, fingers interlocked.

"You got your memory back, all of it?" Helo asked.

"I do. By the way, thanks for the hint. It was enough for me to figure out what I had to do to get my memory back," John told him.

"So you can tell us how you got here?" Helo asked.

"I can. I'm sure your Commander will want to hear that as well. He and Mr. Grumpy are sure to want to listen to that. By the way, then can talk to me face to face, and not have to listen through video cameras," John said with a smirk.

"You knew they were listening to us?" Helo asked.

John shrugged and said, "Even if I didn't detect the electronics, it only makes sense. By the way, where are we?"

"We're on the Battlestar Galactica. Where in space, I can't tell you," Helo said.

"Wow, that wasn't suppose to happen," John said in a musing tone. "The target was a possible habitable planet. I guess you people just happened to be in the way. Good thing I didn't land on a neutron star. That would have sucked big time."

Helo frowned at him. "You landed here by accident?"

"Sure as hades didn't plan to end up here," John replied. "We need to find another planet. John Henry did find a great possible, but instead of trying to build and send a ship, or risk a human, I went to check it out."

"You said you were born, not made?" Helo asked.

"Yup. My mom was Cameron Connor, Dad was John Connor. They figured out a way for Mom to have me, so here I am. I was the second, my sister Sarah is a couple years older than me. When she finds out I'm lost, she's going to have a fit," he ended with a grin.

"You are speaking good now."

"I read the dictionary I was given right after you left. I decided to do that before I went into standby."

"The whole dictionary?" Helo asked.

"I can absorb information fast. It took three point seven minutes."

Helo let out a snort and said, "I have to know, how is it you were born?"

John eyed him and explained. "OK, Dad was human, Mom was a cyborg. Humans grow biologically. Cyborgs initially were made in a factory. Mom wanted to be able to have kids. They figured out how to resolve the biological and mechanical aspects. See, humans grow and heal through cell growth. Cyborgs heal through tiny machines we produce called nanites. Microscopic sized machines you can think of as white bloods cells. The key was to get the two to cooperate. Dad's sperm DNA was modified to accept hollow places where things like bone and cartilage would be. The nanite plan in Mom was modified to grow a metallic mix into Dad's DNA, and fill in my skeleton and add the proper protection. There's a lot more to it, but that's the simple explanation. My parents had Sarah first, then me."

"That's incredible," Helo said. "You said they were your parents. Something happen to them?"

"I told you Dad was human, right? He died. Mom could not face living without him. Both Sarah and I begged her to stay with us, but … well, let's just say Mom couldn't handle not having Dad around. They had been together pretty much their whole lives." John's voice softened. "We had the funeral for Dad, and hugged mom goodbye. She got in the casket and laid down with him, snuggled up with an arm over him like always. Sarah was suppose to pull her chip… she couldn't bring herself to do it. I had to. I pulled her chip, crushed it, then put it under Dad's hand and hers. We buried them together."

"Chip?" Helo asked

"Mom was one of the first cyborgs called terminators" John said softly as he ran through the memory of the funeral. "She had a removable CPU chip. Destroying her chip was … very hard. I killed my own mother. That was what she wanted though. She did not want to live without Dad."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Me too. I can't imagine being so close to someone that you just can't live without them. Dad was everything to Mom," John said.

Helo could not imagine that either. Then he thought about Athena. Breaking that thought, he nodded to the door they were coming up on. "In here."

.

There were some things in the universe John didn't understand. One of them was a human Doctor who knew the risks, but smoked anyway. The gruff old man chided Helo about not bringing John to the clinic right away after being injured. John sat as Doc Cottle looked him over, and explained the 'oddities' the Doctor was finding. John was then put in the X-ray machine. After the pictures were taken, he was send back to a cot to sit and wait for the results.

A short haired blond in uniform came in to eye him. "So, you're the new style of Cylon, huh?" she asked with acid in her voice.

John eyed her. "No, and don't insult me like that again," he replied.

"You're an insult just existing," she said with a sneer. "The Commander says not to shoot you unless you try something. That's the only reason I haven't put a bullet in your head."

John let out a snort and said, "Look, Blondie, your gun won't hurt me. And if you do shoot, I'll beat your ass for GP."

"Starbuck!" Doc Cottle snapped as he came in. "Take it outside, not in my clinic!"

Starbuck stomped out. Doc Cottle frowned down on John. "You are one strange thing," he grumbled at John. "It's like you're part centurion and part human. How'd you get like that?"

Again, John went though how his mother was able to give birth to him and how she was able to do that.

.

Starbuck waited outside the clinic with Saul Tigh.

"He said bullets won't hurt him," Starbuck said.

"We need to find out," Tigh told her. "When they come out, try to hit him someplace non vital."

Starbuck nodded.

.

Once Doc Cottle heard him out and drew some blood, John was free to return to his cell. The female Sargent took the lead. The four guards were standing outside waiting for them.

 **BANG**

John felt the round impact his shoulder blade. He turned to see Starbuck still pointing her gun at him. He frowned at her. "Ouch," he said. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he added with a growl and stepped towards her.

"STOP!" the Sargent yelled and ran to get between them. John pushed her out of the way. Starbuck, eyes wide, fired again, hitting his chest plate. He grabbed the gun and ripped it out of her hands. Yells went up. He delivered a punch to her stomach, folding her in half. Grabbing her collar he pulled her upright and punched her a few times in the face to grow some nice bruises. When he let her go, Starbuck collapsed the floor. Hearing guns being racked behind him, he lifted a moaning Starbuck up by the collar and put her between him and the armed men.

"Go ahead, shoot," John told them.

"Guns down!" the wide eyed Sargent snapped. Starbuck threw up.

John dropped Starbuck to land in her own puke. He broke her gun in half and dropped it on her. The bullet in his chest itched. He dug it out and dropped it down on the moaning woman. "I warned her," he said.

"Yeah, you did," the wide eyed Sargent agreed. She motioned to her men and said, "Get her inside."

"Back to my cell?" John asked.

The Sargent nodded and motioned for him to follow.

John started walking. Jerking a thumb behind him, he asked, "Could you get that bullet out of my back? It itches."

John went back to his cell and sat down, turned to face away from the Sargent so she could remove the bullet. "My name's John Connor Junior, what's yours?" he asked.

"We're not suppose to get friendly with prisoners," she said firmly.

Cracking a grin, John said, "Friendly ? You're putting something into me, it's not like I'm putting something into you."

The Sargent snorted out a laugh. "Hold still," she chided. Carefully using her knife, she got the bullet out, then put a self stick bandage over the hole.

"Thank you," John offered. She only nodded in return.

.

Lying on a gurney, Starbuck held the ice pack to her swelling cheek. "Two shots, one to his back, another square in the chest. The fracker didn't even feel it," she grumbled to Tigh.

Doc Cottle came back in and said, "I could have told you that. That guy is armor plated on the inside. I'm surprised he didn't kill you." He handed Starbuck a bottle and said, "You don't have any internal injuries, but you'll be sore for a while. Take one every twelve hours. And don't shoot that guy again. Doctor orders."

"What will it take to get through that armor?" Tigh asked.

Cottle shrugged and asked, "How would I know? I can tell you it's there, I can tell you it's a material I haven't seen before. How to do damage to others is not my area of expertise."

.

Back in the Commander's quarters, Adama focused on Sargent Colin. "Those shots didn't even penetrate?"

"His skin layer, sir, that's it. He pulled the one in his chest out, and once we got back to his cell, I used my knife to dig the one out of his back." She tossed the flattened slug onto the table. "From what I saw, it didn't even put a scratch in that underlying armor. John's built like a tank."

"He says he was born, Sir," Helo offered. "Human father, cyborg, whatever that is, mother. He's got a sister name Sarah."

Adama eyed Tigh. "Saul, I'm not happy you pulled this stunt and didn't tell me about it. You could have gotten Starbuck killed."

"I had to find out, Commander, for all our sakes." Tigh told him.

"Commander?" Sargent Colin asked. "John did what he said he was going to do if Starbuck shot him. From what I've seen, he has the ability to kill her if he wanted her dead. He did hit her, but not hard enough to permanently injure her. He had her gun in his hand. He broke it in half. If he wanted, he could have shot us all."

"Part of his game," Tigh stated. "He can't kill anyone if he wants us to believe the crap he's telling us."

.

Back in his cell, John laid on his cot, hands behind his head as he studied the ceiling. It was thinner than the walls or the floor, and scanning it, there was a void above it. Most likely another room. He'd failed to get to where he was suppose to go, and worse yet, he was being held by some pretty angry people. He had to send word back to Earth and warn them. Getting out of this cell wasn't going to be hard. Finding a transmitting antenna and the direction to send the signal was going to be.

"John?"

He hear Athena's voice, and ignored it. If he could find the materials and avoid being caught for a half hour, he'd make an antenna. He'd have to see the stars to figure out the direction Earth was in.

"John, please, I'm not like the other cylons. I fled from them. I came here to keep Helo safe from my kind!" Athena pleaded.

"So, you want me to think you're a rebel from your people?" John asked.

"I am. Please don't think I am like them,' she all but cried. "It's … just so hard knowing everyone but Helo hates me."

John sat up and saw she had her face in the hole in the wall. "You're right. Being hated does suck," he agreed. "Answer me this, where can I see outside on this ship?"

"Outside?"

"Yes, I need to see the stars. Where can I do that?"

"There is a lounge in the forward end of the ship. Helo took me there once," she offered.

John nodded slowly. By the name 'Battlestar', this had to be a warship. Warships needed to see what they were shooting at. "Thanks,' he said and got up. Going over to the hole he'd made between their cells, he gripped the edge with one hand.

Athena stepped back. "What are you doing?" she asked nervously.

"Escaping," he said. He crouched down then shot himself up as fast as possible and punched the ceiling hard. His first punch put a deep dent in the metal. He punched again to break through. Once he had a hole, he held on and used the hole in the wall for a foothold as he tore a hole big enough get through and up into the ceiling.

John pulled himself up into a storage room with racks to each side. Alarms went off. He opened the door and looked out. Seeing the hallway was clear, he ran down it, looking for a way up. The hallway turned to show a shut door. John jumped up and clung to the overhead beam. Hearing excited voices, he waited.

The door opened and armed men ran through, looking over the sights of their rifles. They ran around the corner. John swung down and though the door. A little farther and he came to a vertical ladder. He climbed the ladder to find himself in what looked like a service way with pipes lining the walls. A short run and he found switchback stairs. He went up.

Pausing on the next level, he stopped and listened closely. He did hear voices and running feet, but they were far away. Prioritizing his next moves, he first had to find a gun mount or viewing port to see outside. Next was building his antenna. He walked slower along this service corridor looking for a way to the edge of this ship he could see outside.

.

In CIC Commander Adama waited on reports on the escaped prisoner.

Saul Tigh explained, "He tore the ceiling of his cell apart. The marines know he went up into a store room. They had the place surrounded, but he wasn't in there. He didn't go back down either. I've initiate a ship-wide search."

Another call came in. "CIC, this is Lt. Book. The Cylon prisoner said that just before the other cylon broke out, he asked if there was a place to see the stars from. She told him about the forward lounge."

"You think he's headed there?" Tigh asked.

"He is," Adama stated. "He will need a place against the hull to get his bearings and send a signal out to the cylon fleet to report out position."

"Should we jump the fleet?" Tigh asked.

"Not yet. Listen for an outgoing transmission, mark where it came from, then the fleet jumps," Adama stated. "Instead of chasing him around, we'll wait for him to show us where he is. Station guards at every portal."

.

Slowly, John got a feel of where he was in this ship in his wanderings. The place was huge. Being careful no one saw him, he did find what looked like an air lock. There was no view port or way to see outside though. Hearing someone coming, he tucked himself between a frame and a duct as they went by. Instead of moving on, they looked in the control room for the air lock and stayed. He heard the Sargent's voice.

"CIC, this I Sargent Colin. On post, airlock 37B."

"Copy, Sargent."

Great. He was out of their line of sight, so long as he stayed put.

"Sarg, what do we do if he shows up?"

"Report. If he doesn't see us, we shadow him. That's it."

"I hear this thing's bullet proof."

"He is. That's why we don't engage him. Shoot him and he'll beat you down. You'll hurt much more than he will," she said firmly.

John leaned out to get a peek at how they were positioned. Catching a glimpse, he pulled back quickly, then studied the image. They were side by side in front of the control room door.

"This is going to get boring," the other guard said.

"Marines don't whine," she said firmly.

"Sarg, won't he see us standing here? I mean, shouldn't we take cover?"

There was a pause, then the Sargent said, "We should. See that frame? That's most likely the way he'll come from. Tuck yourself in there. I'll get behind one in the other passage here. We'll switch every hour."

John listened. Someone came over and leaned against the frame in front of him, facing away. He saw light brown hair peeking out from under the helmet.

It was a good thing he didn't have to breathe. Moving very slow, he eased out to peek around Sargent Colin. The other marine wasn't in sight. He clapped an hand quickly over her mouth. "No noise," he whispered in her ear.

She stiffened, but kept silent.

John felt for her radio and shut it off. When he pulled her a little farther back, she came willingly. He did see her eyes were wide. His mouth to her ear, he whispered, "I truly do not want you hurt you. You know that, right?"

She nodded.

"Good, so please don't do anything to make me. I'm going to take your gun and your radio," he said, barely audible. "Then tie you up and stuff you in a corner. I'm sure someone will find you soon."

She let John relieve her of her rifle and radio, all the time keeping a hand over her mouth.

She stayed quiet as he released her mouth to move her hands behind her back. He used her own cuffs to handcuff her. How fracking embarrassing.

When John took her helmet off, he looked into her blue eyes gazing at him in fright. He dug into her first aide packet and used a bandage to gag her with.

"Wait," she said in a bare whisper before he covered her mouth. "Please, turn yourself in so no one gets hurt."

He gagged her and whispered, "There's something I have to do, first." He kissed her cheek and slid her into the place he'd been hiding. He wedged her in using her own rifle, tore the cord out of the mic on her radio and put that in with her too. Then he was gone.

She waited long enough to be sure he was gone, then screamed as loud as she could through the gag.

.

For how easily John had slid Colin into place, getting out was tough. The private with her called for help as soon as she found her, but even with his help, she twisted an ankle breaking free of the tight spot.

"Frack!" she spat as soon as the gag came off. The private got the cuffs off her.

"When … how did he do that? I didn't hear a thing," The private said.

"He's a sneaky bastard." She picked up the radio and said, "Stay here in case he comes back." She then ran off the way John had to have gone.

"Your rifle?"

"No need for it," she called back.

Something was bothering Julie Colin. This supposed cylon, John, was on the run. If it had been her who was trying to escape, she would not have gently tucked him into a space where she knew he'd be found. She would have killed him before hiding the body to prolong knowledge of her presence for as long as possible.

He didn't do that. Until Starbuck shot him, he hadn't showed any aggressiveness at all. Yes, he scared her, but he had handled her gently and tucked her away long enough to get away himself. Cylons didn't act like that. When they were on a mission, they killed whoever they came across.

John was looking for a place to see the stars from. She was sure now that it was not going to be the viewing lounge. He was looking for anywhere people weren't. She headed for the closet place she knew of. Point defense turret nine.

.

John hurried down the passage, listening for pursuit. Seeing another ladder, he climbed up to the next level. He did hear people up here. The ladder only went up this far. Peeking out of the ladder way, he saw a pair of marines walking away from him. One thing he did notice was a diagram on the wall. Quietly he went over to it. It was a diagram of gun turrets. He'd gone too far. On this level back the way he'd come was one. Yes, a gun turret would do nicely.

John followed the directions. Peeking around a corner, he saw the entrance to the turret was unguarded. Hearing running steps, he pulled back. Someone ran close. A door opened and shut. He peeked back out to see the hallway empty.

If he was hearing right, the door to the gun turret was the one that the person had run in. Cautiously, he went over and listened at the door. Panting breaths came from inside. They were searching for him.

OK, he found a place to transmit from. Now, he just had to find antenna material. Across the hall was an ammunition store room. He went in. The boxes of ammo were on racks that could be torn apart, and there was a long table to provide a parabolic cone. Great! He got to work.

.

Inside point defense turret nine, Julie Colin had stripped off her armor and gear. In just her under shirt and pants, she radioed in. "CIC, this is Sargent Colin. I am in point defense turret nine. I believe this is where the prisoner is trying to get to. This, or another point defense turret."

"That is why you left your post," an unhappy reply came.

"Yes. He's looking for a view outside the ship. This is the closest one from where he was seen last. I am going to hide until he gets here."

"Sargent Colin, you have a grenade?"

"I do."

"Then if he does come in, use that grenade. Toss it in as you leave, make sure the door is shut."

Sir … that will ruin this defense position," she said, not wanting to say it might kill him.

"You have your orders, Sargent."

"Yes sir."

.

It was hard work to bend and break off steel quietly. John managed to make an amplifying cone of the proper dimension for his built in transmitter. He listened at the door, then peeked out. The hallway was clear. He stepped out into the hall then listened at the turret door. It was quiet inside. He opened it and looked in. No one.

Going in, he shut the door and used a piece of angle to wedge the door shut.

The inside of the turret held a seat, controls and a view of the stars. Three gun barrels protruded out. To the side of the seat were the loading tubes. He played with the controls as he looked out at the stars. He then heard a quick metallic noise behind him. He turned to see Sargent Colin wearing only a shirt and pants slip out of a locker holding a grenade. She pulled the pin.

John put his hands up. "Ok, you got me, don't let go of that," he said evenly.

Her face was set in determination. "I don't want to," she told him. "I was told to get out and toss this back in. I don't want to kill you, so please, get up and walk out."

John stood up, she backed up. Pointing he said, "I jammed the door shut." Scanning the floor, he found the pin. Slowly, he picked it up and offered it to her. "Put the pin back in before we have an accident, OK?"

Julie shook her head. "I can't. I need you to step out, slowly. One wrong move and I drop this grenade."

"No, don't! You'll kill yourself," he pleaded.

"I know," she said in a rough voice. "I can't let you do … whatever it is you're trying to do. I don't want to die and I don't want to kill you, so please, walk out of here."

John let out a huff. "Do you want to know what you are risking your life for?"

"I do know. I have to protect my people," she said firmly. I can't let you call the cylons. I will die before I let that happen."

"In this case, you're wrong,' John said. "I did make an antenna. I made it to call my people to let them know what happened to me. That's it. Nothing that will endanger you. So please, put the pin back in."

Julie shook her head. "I can't."

John motioned to the door. "Then let me un jam the door so you can get out."

"Just open the door, or I drop it," she said firmly.

"Don't kill yourself over nothing!" John said firmly.

"I have to get you out of here. I can't let you transmit," she replied firmly. "John, you respect life right? Respect your own. Walk out and I won't have to kill you."

Despite her brave firm words, John could hear her heart beating rapidly. She was also quivering in fear. She was scared, but was holding onto herself. He had to give this cute girl top marks for bravery.

John dropped his head in a shake. "Sargent Colin, I won't die. You will." Looking back up at her he said, "I do not want your death on my hands." He didn't add that he thought she was far to cute to die.

"Then walk out, and we both live," she stated.

On John's HUD, the range and angle to the grenade came up. "All right," he said in a huff. He walked to move past her. At the closest point of approach, he shot a hand out over hers, gripping the grenade. She cried out and tried to shake him loose, then tried to push him away. She then hurt her hand punching him in the face. He got the pin back in and pried the grenade away from her.

"I'm sorry," he said, and hit her hard enough to knock her out. First he put the grenade behind a ready ammo box, then lifted her up and put her in the turret seat. He found her gear in the locker she came out of. Using her jacket and straps for her armor, he tied her arms to the chair arms.

John then concentrated on the stars, searching for a recognizable pattern. He panned the guns around until he found what he was looking for. It was a reverse star pattern, but it told him which way Earth was.

He set up his antenna and transmitted his message burst twice. That was all the power he could spare. It would have to be enough. He turned the turret back to a neutral position.

"ughhh…." The Sargent moaned and moved her head as she came around.

"Easy, you OK?" John asked as he knelt beside her.

She opened her eyes and blinked a couple times. She then jerked at her arms. Scowling at him, she said, "That was a dirty trick."

"Ready to get out of here?" he asked.

She looked at the formed metal, then him. "You did it."

"I did. I sent a message back saying I was alive and functioning, and to not search for me," John said and untied her arms.

"I don't believe you. Why send a message like that?" Julie asked.

"Because I don't want them looking for me while I'm with you," he said, getting her free. As he helped her up, he added, "We already had the great human versus machine war, and screwed our planet up. We sure as hell don't want anything to do with your war."

"Then why bother sending them anything?" she asked

"If I didn't, they would come looking for me," he explained. "I don't want anyone else to suffer through the fine treatment you've been giving me," he said with a tiny smile.

Backing up to give her room, he said, "You should probably get dressed before we leave. You don't want anyone thinking we got too friendly." He grinned and winked.

Julie held back a smirk. She took a step towards the locker, then looked down. "What happened to the grenade?"

"Be a good girl and get dressed, and I'll give it back to you."

Julie got her clothes out and got herself together. John picked up the grenade and handed it to her, then went to the door to un jam it.

Watching him, she asked, "John, aren't you afraid your people won't find you?"

"No," he said and pulled the angle iron out. "I'm afraid your people will find mine," he said and opened the door to see a row of guns pointed at him. He sighed and put his hands on his head.

A minute later, the ship jumped.

.

John's account of the events saved Julie from being demoted. He did have to sit in a chair and be growled at by Mr. Grumpy, demanding who he transmitted to as the other high rankers looked on.

At first, John took offence to being called a cylon. After Mr. Grumpy yelled enough, he quit listening. The admiral had My. Grumpy stop.

The old brunette woman with the glasses, took her turn. "Can you tell us why we should not just dump you out into space?" she asked in an even tone.

"Nope," John replied. "You're going to do whatever you want. If you choose to be cruel, I can't stop you."

"What did you transmit?" she asked.

"My name and designator, the fact I never made it to the planet I was aimed at, and for no one to come looking for me."

"You expect us to believe that?" Commander Adama asked in a heavy tone.

John eyed him and said, "You picked the transmission up, decode it and listen to it."

"Why would you not want to be looked for?" Roslyn asked.

"Simply, because you people are warlike, and we got enough of our own problems," John stated.

"So you just told them to not to search for you to keep them safe?"

"The good of the many outweighs the good of the one," John stated.

"Why don't I believe you?" Mr. Grumpy growled.

John eyed him. "Because you are a paranoid idiot," he stated.

Angry, Tigh hauled off and punched him. Then winced as he held his stinging hand.

John grinned at him and said, "Sooth move, Exlax. I'll turn my cheek of you want another shot."

Tigh glared at him.

"Saul! Back off!," Adama ordered. To John he said, "We don't believe you."

"I don't care what you believe," John retorted. "I did what I had to do. I'm done. Throw me back into my cell forever, see if I care."

"It may be out an airlock," Roslyn warned.

"Whatever does it for you, baby. At least then I won't have to put up with your bullshit."

Adama pointed to him. "Take him back to his cell."

"You do know the roof's got a leak, right?" John asked.

"GET HIM OUT OF HERE!" Adama roared.

John got up and followed Sargent Colin out. Walking back to the brig, Colin asked, "What does smooth move exlax mean?"

John shrugged and said, "I have no idea. That's what Dad used to say when I did something dumb. Figured it was appropriate."

"You shouldn't make them mad at you," she told him.

"Frak'en if they can't take a joke."

"You do know Roslyn just might have you air locked," she warned.

"Yeah, well, I've always wanted to fly," John said in a musing tone.

"When you're flying though the vacuum of space, you may regret it until you die of exposure," she stated.

"I don't need to breathe, and I can take radiation pretty good too," John told her. "It might get lonely out there though. That or having to listen to Mr. Grumpy, I'm screwed any way I look at it."

Colin looked back at him. "Mr. Grumpy?"

"You know, the grumpy balding guy who swears a lot."

Colin turned around and clapped a hand to her mouth to hide her grin.

.

Commander Adama did have that transmission analyzed. It was in a digital format and when decoded, it read just what that thing said. It was a warning not to look for him. There was noting on it about the fleet, Galactica, or their location. Reviewing the recording of number nine point defense turret, he listened to the exchange between Sargent Colin and 'John". He played it twice. At the end, he sat staring at the table.

"Laura, what do we do with him?" he asked Roslyn who was on the couch beside him. "He is an armored cylon, tougher than anything we've seen. That antenna he built from scrap? Techs say it has a better gain than anything we've made by blueprints. More than once, he's had the chance to kill and the most he did was knock out Sargent Colin. Starbuck was more angry than hurt. Not to mention he proved he can escape his cell any time he feels like it. My common sense tells me he has to be a cylon, but my gut tells me he's something else."

"He mentioned being from Earth, do you believe that?" Laura asked.

With a snort, Adama said, "As much as I believe he was born. You tell me how metal can grow. Especially in a woman's womb."

"Maybe we should test him somehow," Laura said.

"How?"

"Bill, One thing I noticed was he took pains not to hurt Sargent Colin any more than he had to. Maybe it was for show, or maybe he really does care about people. Give him an option. Escape or let someone die. See which he chooses."

Adama eyed her. "And if he chooses to let that person die?"

"They we blow up the escape craft right after he launches."

.

John got a new holding place. It was far from the cell he had previously been kept in. The new cell was a decent sized room with a little better cot that could almost be called a bed, a private toilet and sink, an extra chair, and a long shelf along one wall. Not long after he was deposited here, Sargent Colin came back in with a tray of food.

"Meal time," she announced. "I have to stay and make sure you don't try to make a weapon with your utensils."

John eyed the tray. "Two plates?" he asked.

"One for you, one for me. I told you I have to stay. After this I'm off, so I might as well eat with you so I can get the hades off duty and do something fun," she explained. She set the tray on the shelf and sat down on the bench.

John went over and sat by her. "Efficient thinking. So, what's your plans for the night?"

She picked up a spoon and said, "There's a concert tonight. We don't get many of those, so I want to catch it if I can."

"Good band?" he asked and took a bite.

"So so. Any music is good. Much better than none at all," she said with a shrug. "So far, the ones playing aren't the best, like I said. One tried to make a song about us being stuck out here." She winced and said, "They were pretty horrible."

John ate for a bit then asked, "Can you get me some steel wire, say, one of these metal plates, and some screws?"

Colin eyed him. "Planning an escape?" she asked.

"No, planning to serenade you if you keep bringing me meals and sit with me for a bit," he replied.

Colin cast him a grin and asked, "Mr. Invincible Cyborg is going to serenade me?"

"I will give me something to work on," he said defensively. "And if I suck at it, you'll be the only one to know."

Colin laughed at him. She then waved her spoon at him and said, "If you try to escape, I won't ever bring you anything again. Got that?"

"Yes, Sargent," he said, sat up straight and saluted her.

She whacked his arm with her spoon.

.

John was lying on his bunk when he heard two guards outside his cell talking.

"I was just down in the port hangar bay. Heard they got a new raptor. The thing's got a mega-fuel supply. Chief Tyrol claims if can jump halfway across the Galaxy."

"I heard that too. Only I heard it can even jump between galaxies. The pilot will get old and die before the fuel runs out."

"Why make something like that?"

"Heard the brass figured out the direction our mystery cylon transmitted to. The Commander wants it checked out, no matter how far away it is."

John sat up.

"Well, I just hope we don't loose the crew. We lost enough people already."

"No kidding. Ready to relieve?"

"I got it, go grab some grub."

"Frackers," John grumbled. If they did have this raptor, he couldn't let it take off. He already knew the metal of his room wasn't very thick, and there were voids above and below. He figured they were trying to find out if they could trust him.

Well, they could, until now.

The back wall was where the small air vent came in. Carefully, he dug his fingers into the vent and pulled it out, making as little noise as possible. Peeling more wall back, he found the duct was in a narrow service corridor. He slipped in and headed for an access to the port flight pod. He'd mentally mapped enough of the ship to find it. He might make a wrong turn or two, but he would find it.

Coming to a low, wide corridor with pipes and thick cable bundles, he was sure this was it. He made his way down beside an air supply duct. It passed through a solid bulkhead. He peeled back the ducting and got in. Continuing on, eyes glowing red so he could see, he crawled on to find the duct split. He also found an access door. He left the duct to emerge in a small room. Peeking out, the hallway was clear.

John ended up on a catwalk above the main floor of a hanger. Below, there were several boxy craft lined up. One was in the middle of the floor. This one was different. It had a pair of long, oblong shapes on the upper sides that reminded him of the drop tanks planes used. That had to be it.

From his vantage point, he could see several people working here and there around the bay. At the end of the bay was a large square opening with warning signs.

 **Warning - Air Curtain, do not go beyond this point without proper protection**

John thought for a moment. He'd planned on destroying that craft, but was it possible he might be able to escape with it?

There was plenty of cover. John slipped over the side of the catwalk and climbed down to deck level. Walking over to the raptor and an unhurried pace, he acted like he belonged there. He went in the open hatch to find a stocky man doing something at the large electronics panel in the middle of the craft.

"What are you doing in here?" the man asked.

"Stealing," John said. He grabbed the man and threw him out the hatch, then shut it. A twist of the manual handle ensured no one was going to open it up from the outside.

The piloting controls were fairly standard. John sat down and scanned them to be sure there were no surprises. Someone pounded on the front window. It was the man. He waved and shook his head frantically. John heard him scream, "Don't light the engines!"

As the man yelled again, he pointed in an arc at John.

"Ronnie is in the thruster housing, Don't light the engines!" the man screamed.

John saw this guy was terrified. He also saw marines coming. One had a rocket launcher. He'd have about 30 seconds to launch before they got here. If he did blast out of here, Ronnie was toast. "Well, so much for that idea," John said in a huff.

The radio on the console came alive. "Step out of the Raptor, hands in the air, or we will destroy that craft with you in it!"

Yeah, that was what he expected if he was caught. He got up and went back to the electronics panel. Although he didn't fully understand what was here, he did recognize this thing had search and scanning capabilities. He punched through the monitor and pulled a handful if the innards out. It sparked and died. He was thinking about ripping it completely apart. Then again, that wasn't going to do any good. They could just replace whatever he destroyed. Even if he completely destroyed this craft, they had more they could modify.

"FUCK!" he spat.

There was another knock, or rather pound on the window. This time it was Sargent Colin, gazing at him wide-eyed. She screamed, "John! Come out. You can't get away. If you even try, people are going to die. Do you really want that?"

He shook his head and pointed at the hatch. "Fuck me," he grumbled and unbent the handle to throw the hatch open. He put his hands on top of his head, fingers locked together.

He was expecting an armed escort back to his room. What he didn't expect was to see Lee Adama with the marines. The CAG asked, "You had time to bolt before the marines showed up. Why didn't you?"

John shrugged and said, "Guess I decided to stick around for a bit seeing how you people are such good hosts."

Lee only nodded and said, "So you know, we have no way to follow that signal you sent. And those fuel tanks are fake."

"You baited me," John stated.

"We did," Lee agreed. "We had to see if given the chance to flee, if you would, knowing someone was going to be killed by your escape."

John frowned at him. "I really should slap you for that," he grumbled.

Lee smiled at him and asked, "How'd you get down here with no one seeing you?"

"I kept out of people's sight."

"Fair enough," Lee said and motioned to Collin. "Sargent, take him back to his room."

"Yes, Sir."


	2. Chapter 2

CH 2

John was surprised there was no punishment for his actions. Back in his room, he did more or less fix the wall. Sargent Colin did slip him some steel wire, a plate and a block of plastic during their next meals together. He worked on his projects, hiding them when she or anyone came in. First he used the plastic and metal to make a harmonica. Using math, he angled the cuts right and tested it to be sure it sounded like it should. The next one was harder. He had to sneak out and find a bucket. Luckily, he wasn't caught. Using the base for the sound chamber and some of the side, he formed a neck and made a banjo. Stringing it was tough, pulling the string tight on the screws, then wrapping them off so they'd stay. I took him ten days to get it working right. What he made was almost a banjo, it just sounded tinny. He was able to get the full scale of notes out of it.

.

Sargent Colin reported to the gunny on what John wanted, and the private serenade he told her he'd do. To be sure this wasn't some elaborate escape plan, the gunny had the hallway covered with video and audio sensors. Colin was to carry a recorder with her too.

The day came when he was ready. He took a song Dad loved and translating it, he had to change the tune some, but not as much as he feared he had to. He practiced to be sure it sounded good, then waited for dinner and Colin.

Sargent Colin came in with the food tray. After they ate, he said, "I have to sit over on the cot to play some music. Just sit there and listen, OK?"

"This isn't something squishy, is it?" she asked.

"Squishy?" he asked.

"Romantic, cuddly music?"

"Hardly. More advice, if anything," he said and pulled the banjo out from under his cot.

Colin eyed the instrument. "You made that? Here?" she asked.

"Sure did. This too," he said and pulled the harmonica on a neck brace out from under the cot.

"You've been busy," she noted.

"Got a lot of free time on my hands," he said and sat down to put the harmonica on.

Colin started the recorder. "I can't wait to hear this," she said with a grin.

"Well, if I suck, just don't tell anyone OK?" John said with a smirk.

"I won't tell anyone you suck," she promised.

"Thanks," John then started playing the harmonica and strumming his banjo.

The tune had a quick beat, and he didn't suck. In fact, it was pretty good. He then started singing.

 _Well you know those times_

 _When you feel like there's a sign_

 _There on your back_

 _._

 _Says I don't mind if ya kick me,_

 _Seems like everybody has_

 _._

 _Things go from bad to worse,_

 _You think they can't get worse than that,_

 _And then they do._

 _._

 _You get of the straight and narrow_

 _and ya don't know where ya are_

 _Use the needle of your compass_

 _To sew up your broken heart_

 _._

 _Ask directions from a Jeanie_

 _In a bottle of Jim Beam_

 _And she lies to you!_

 _._

 _That's when you learn the truth_

 _._

 _If your going through hell,_

 _Keep on going_

 _Don't slow down_

 _If your scared don't show it_

 _Ya might get out fore_

 _The devil even knows you're there_

 _._

 _Well I've been deep down in that darkness_

 _I've been down to my last match_

 _Felt a hundred different demons_

 _Breathing fire down my back_

 _._

 _And if I knew that if I stumbled_

 _I'd fall right into the trap_

 _That they were layin_

 _._

 _But the good new is there's angels_

 _Everywhere out on the street_

 _Holdin out their hand to_

 _pull you back up on your feet_

 _._

 _The ones that you've been draggin_

 _For so long_

 _You've been on your knees,_

 _Might as well be prayin_

 _._

 _Guess what I'm sayin_

 _If your going through hell,_

 _Keep on going_

 _Don't slow down_

 _If your scared don't show it_

 _Ya might get out fore_

 _The devil even knows you're there_

 _._

 _Yeah, if you're goin though hell_

 _Keep on movin_

 _Face that fire_

 _Walk right through it_

 _Ya might get out fore_

 _the devil even knows your there._

Colin was stunned. John kept playing, and she wanted to jump over and hug him! It was like he was saying exactly what she needed to hear. The song was good too! He slowed the pace of the music and sang as if telling her something important.

. _If you're going through hell_

 _keep on going_

 _Don't slow down_

 _If you're scared don't show it_

 _Ya might get out fore the devil even knows you're there_

 _._

 _Yeah if you're goin through hell, keep on movin_

 _Face that fire_

 _Walk right through it._

 _Ya might get out fore the devil even knows your there._

 _Yeah, Ya might get out fore the devil even knows your there._

He strummed his last cords then looked at her and said, "Wasn't too bad, I hope."

Colin gazed at him briefly then launched herself over to hug him. "That was wonderful!" she cried.

John patted her back. "Glad you like it. Be careful though, we might be getting a bit too friendly," he chided.

Colin pulled back. She turned the recorder off and said, "Julie."

"Julie?"

She nodded. "My first name. I'm Julie Colin."

He returned her smile and said, "Hello, Julie Colin I'm John Connor Junior."

"Well, John Connor Junior, I'm going to play your song on the inter fleet radio," she said and bounced up.

"What? Whoa, that was for you," John complained.

"Thank you, and I'm going to share it with everyone. You did good, John Connor Junior," she told him and went over to scoop up the dishes.

"So, I didn't suck?" he asked with a grin.

"Nope," she stated and left. Before she got the door shut, she stuck her head in and said, "If you want to make another one for me, I really want to hear it."

"I'll think of something," he told her and waved.

She waved back with a wide smile and left.

.

The next day, Roslyn was sitting at her desk on Colonial one, listening to the radio with one ear when she heard a familiar voice that shouldn't be on there.

 _Well you know those times_

 _When you feel like there's a sign_

 _There on your back_

 _._

 _Says I don't mind if ya kick me,_

 _Seems like everybody has_

 _._

 _Things go from bad to worse,_

 _You think they can't get worse than that,_

 _And then they do._

She stared at it. Was that the cylon? Quickly, she called Commander Adama.

"Adama" he said.

"Bill are you listening to the radio?'

"No, why do you ask?"

"Turn it on, tell me if you recognize that voice!" she demanded.

"Hold on," he said in a irritated huff.

A moment later he said, "That's the Cylon, John!"

"Yes, what in the hell is he doing on the radio?" Roslyn demanded.

"I plan to find out!" he growled and disconnected.

.

John sat on his bunk, picking out tunes and trying to come up with something else inspirational for Julie. The door burst open, two marines rushed in, a third behind them.

"Drop it!" one commanded.

John frowned at him and asked, "What's your problem?"

"Place the device down and stand against the wall!"

John got up and tossed the banjo on the bed. "Yeah, I got a real dangerous banjo there. Might hurt someone with it," he said in a sarcastic tone.

A man snapped up his banjo. They tossed his cot, pulled out the harmonica and part of a drum he was working at and left with them. They also left a mess.

"Assholes," John grumbled.

Next in was Mr. Grumpy, flanked by guards. "Where'd you get those things?" he asked in a growl.

"Made them. I take it you're jealous because you can't?" John asked.

"Don't get wise with me, mister!" Tigh growled.

"Don't need to. I'm already smarter than you," John replied.

Tigh balled his fists. Seeing this John grinned and asked, "Glutton for punishment, huh?"

Tigh spun around. "OUT!" he snapped at the guards. The door slammed shut. John heard a bolt or something get thrown.

"That's right, run chicken," John called after them. He set to work putting his cot back together.

Later on Julie didn't come by with food. No one came. John had a good reserve of nutrients by now so he didn't need to eat. Lying on his bunk, he returned to thinking about another song Julie might like. It was something to keep his mind occupied and not have to think about being stuck here for the rest of his life.

A couple hours later another woman in a marine uniform threw the door open and demanded, "How did you transmit that song?"

John glanced at her. "I didn't."

"Then who did?" she asked in a yell.

In a light tone, John said, "I'm sorry, the information you are asking for is classified. You must speak with Helen to have authorization."

"Helen WHO!"

John propped himself up on his elbows. "If you want to know, go to Hell'en hunt for the answer." He flopped back down.

The door slammed shut.

It was fun being a smart ass. It was the only fun he had left. He also had a feeling no dinner was coming tonight. He just hoped Julie wasn't going to get in trouble.

While John was being punished for the song that was now very popular in the fleet, a listening device in space also picked it up. Another just out of range ignited it's thrusters and moved across the direction of reception to pick up the signal and get a triangulation on the source.

.

All John's guards were changed. Instead of Julie coming in to serve him food, another guard just peeked in to verify he was still there. John stayed on his cot, conserving nutrients. It was a good thing too, He'd gone two weeks without food by his chronometer. The biggest problem he was facing was how he was going to find a habitable planet when he was stuck here. Maybe they would dump him off someplace that was suitable. At the moment, that was his only hope of finding a planet.

He had to wonder if this was this their latest plan, to starve him to death? That was going to take a while. Two point eight years to degrade his bio systems, to be exact. Even then, he'd still be alive, he'd just look horrible. He wondered if he was going to be in here long enough that they just forgot about him.

17 days after his isolation began, the door opened. He looked up. "Hello, Helo," he said, and dropped his head back down.

"We need your help," Helo said.

"Sucks to be you," John sang.

"Sometimes it does," Helo agreed. "We're going on a mission on Caprica, it's dangerous, and we really would like to have an edge over the cylons," Helo explained.

"Get a sharper knife." John told him.

'That's good. Seriously, people could get killed. We would really like your help."

John sat up. "Wow, I have to ask, how hypocritical can you people be? You give me such fine treatment since I've been here, and now you want my help?" he asked in a light tone. Much harder, he asked, "Give me one good reason why I should lift a finger for you."

"John, I know it's been hard and the Commander has trouble trusting you."

"And I trust him as far as he can throw me. I gotta tell you, that isn't very far at all," John stated.

"People that are going might not make it back. They will die on that planet," Helo stated.

"Then don't go," John countered.

"There are humans being tortured and dying there," Helo said sternly. "We have to try to get them out."

John closed his eyes "Frack!" He spat. "What's the mission details?" he asked with a sigh.

"We'll be discussing that at the meeting, in fifteen minutes," Helo told him.

"Wow, plenty of advance notice, huh?" John asked and got up.

"We want to move as fast as possible," Helo explained.

"First mistake," John told him. "By the way, got anything to eat?"

.

Helo led John to the mess hall where John grabbed a handful of the 'food squares' that looked like green crackers. Munching them down as they continued on, Helo led him to the pilot's briefing room. The stern faces of Lee Adama, Starbuck, Athena, and Mr. Grumpy turned to them as they came in.

"Hi guys, what's up?" John asked and crunched down the last cracker.

Lee pointed to the table and said, "We are going on a rescue mission. It will be very dangerous, and we're not expecting everyone to make it back," he said.

John went over to the table to see a large picture of mountains with a few red circles to call out some spots. He said, "Two mistakes I can see right away. First is you're hurrying. Second, she's here," and pointed to the cylon.

"We need Athena, and time is critical," Lee stated.

"What do you need her for?" John asked.

"What the frack do you know?" Starbuck spat at him.

"Athena knows the cylon codes and can help us penetrate the defenses," Lee stated.

"So are these electronic codes?" John asked.

"They require communication," Athena said flatly. "We won't get into the research facility without them."

In a hard tone, Starbuck said, "They are torturing women there. We have to stop it, as if you care."

"More than you think I do, Blondie. That bleach you use in your hair is rotting your brain," John replied.

Seeing Starbuck glare at him and grabbed the handle of her pistol, Lee held up his hand to her. "Stand down!" Lee admonished. When he was sure Starbuck wasn't going to shoot, he turned his attention back to John. "It's simple, we know that place is heavily guarded, and we need all the help we can get to get in there. Athena can help get us to the surface, and the rebels don't have the firepower to help us. We can pick them up, but this place is going to give us a fight."

John looked at the distance between the two places. "Got any fifty cals?" he asked.

"What's a fifty cal?"

"Rifle or machine gun, half inch diameter bullets, long range. Do you have one?" John asked.

"The only thing we have like that are on the raptors," Lee said.

John shook his head sadly. "You people are really prepared for this, huh?" he asked, which caused angry looks at him. "Can you modify one to be shot by hand?"

"You're crazy," Mr. Grumpy growled. "Something like that will knock you flat," he stated.

"You, not me," John replied. "And I don't want to charge in there without a decent weapon. I also don't want to see one of you dumbbells get splattered by those cylons, so drop me off out of their sensing range, then go get your rebels. By the time you get them, I should be done there."

"What? You're a hero now?" Starbuck spat.

"No Blondie, just tougher, faster and more accurate than you," John replied.

"We can't let you go without someone watching you," Tigh growled. "Be lucky we trust you this much."

John raised an eyebrow at him. "You talk about trusting me? What's to stop you from bugging out and leaving me there?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Starbuck asked.

"I wouldn't have to hear your stupid shit any more," John retorted.

"All right, enough!" Lee barked. "John, can you really handle a fifty caliber chain gun?"

John nodded and said, "That was what I was trained with. That, and the 20mm sniper rifles. Those bullets are just under an inch in diameter."

"I'll talk to Chief Tyrol about it," Lee told him.

'Thank you. If he can't make one hand held, then give me the biggest thing you got that has plenty of ammo," John said firmly.

"Thank you for agreeing to help. We'll take care of the details," Lee said in a somewhat friendly voice. "By the way. The Commander did say you can leave your room."

John perked up at this. "He did? When was this?"

"Two weeks ago," Starbuck said with a slight grin. "We figured when you were hungry enough, you'd come out."

"Well frack you too."

"Not on your life."

Lee held up a hand to stop them. "Helo, see if Chief Tyrol can help us. If not, see what we have in the armory that is suitable for John. Flight briefing in two hours, Helo, be here."

"How long before we leave?" John asked.

"Skids up in four hours."

"Great," John grumbled. He knew in that time, there was no way a chain gun could be modified. "This is gonna suck," he grumbled.

.

Like he expected, Chief Tyrol, the man he'd thrown out of that raptor, said it couldn't be done. Helo took him to the armory. The best he could find was a .40 cal machine gun that had a belt feed. Their lack of modern weaponry truly amazed him. He took it they never even heard of a plasma rifle. He'd be better off throwing fucking rocks. John wasn't allowed to take the machine gun, it would be waiting at his raptor.

.

There was one thing he wanted to do before they left. He asked Helo when marines weren't out on duty, where did they go. Helo pointed him to the Marine lounge and fitness area. John went to the lounge first. Seeing a non marine there, all the faces around the room locked on him.

"I'm looking for Sargent Colin. Anyone know where she is?" John asked.

"Briefing," a burly Marine said. 'Don't expected her back right away."

The tone told him where she was, was none of his business. Right. "If you could, tell her John Conner said thank you," he told the man, then turned and left.

.

Helo took John to get some 'body armor'. John didn't need it to survive, but figured it might save some of his flesh. Helo then had to go to the pilot briefing. Not having anything better to do until they were to leave, John went down to find Chief Tyrol to see if there was anything he could do to help. There was nothing technical, but John did do 'grunt' work carrying crates. A couple mechanics had hear rumors about John. They wanted to see how strong John was, so they asked him to help get the raptors in position.

John picked up the tow bar and instead of waiting for a tractor, he pulled one of the raptors into launch position. The 'tie' crew that connected and disconnected the tow bars had to work twice as fast as John helped. They had the Raptors in line and ready in record time.

Marines and raptor crews arrived to board the raptors. John got on the one Lee Adama led him to. Lee and another man took pilot and co-pilot. John noted the machine gun by one of the six seats in the back. He sat down and looked the gun over. It was a standrad old type belt fed machine gun. The Ammo box has a strap on it he could use as a belt to strap it to his waist. As long as the ammo belt didn't jam, it would suffice. The ECO operator sat down and Marines filed in. John wasn't paying close attention to them until Julie asked, "John, why are you here?" as she sat beside him.

John stared at her. "You can't go," John told her.

"Sargent Colin is leading your squad," Lee called from the front.

John burst out with, "What! No! Damn it, Adama, I don't need to be watching out for others! They don't need to come."

"They are coming, Commander's orders," Lee stated. "Closing the hatch. Get ready for takeoff."

"John, you are part of my squad," Julie stated.

John frowned at her. "Keep your squad behind me, preferably on the Raptor," he said.

"You will have to follow my orders, we need to work as a team," Julie told him firmly.

"We will," John replied. "I attack, you and your team watch my back."

"You are going to take on centurions by yourself?" she asked.

"I'm bullet proof, you're not," John said heavily.

"Good point," she conceded. Julie pulled out her map and said, "Let me show you the mission."

The takeoff and jumps were distracting, but John listened to what the mission was for this squad. The buildings shown were not good resolution, but good enough. They were to get inside the complex and rescue or finish off every human then set charges and get out. What the mission briefing didn't mention was how many of theses centurions there were, what they were armed with or what communications they were using.

"We're behind the eight ball on this mission," John grumbled. "Will you do a few things for me?" he asked.

"Like what?" Julie asked.

"First off, stay back while I go scout the place. Get their numbers, find their communications, get the layout. AFTER I case the place, then we make a plan to go in. When we go in, we drive in like a spear. I lead and take out defense points. Let me draw and keep their attention. You take your squad and go straight to the captives. Do what you gotta do, then we get out of there. OK?" John said.

"That does sound like a plan, Sargent," Lee called back.

"Sir, we should move in with maximum fire power to do the most damage at the outset of hostilities," Julie stated.

"For a normal attack, I agree," Lee said. "What we're about to do is a commando raid."

"I keep them distracted, you grab who you can and get out," John agreed.

Lee listened to his radio and said. "All right, this is the last jump. We're jumping into atmosphere, brace," he said.

John didn't like the sound of that, especially since he didn't even see a planet out the front window.

They jumped and the ship shuddered. It kept shuddering. John could see atmosphere now, as well as a tree line fast approaching. "Aww shit," he spat and threw an arm over Julie and gripped the far edge of her seat to help keep her from flyng out of it when they hit. Calculations told him they were going to crash.

John did have to give Lee credit, he knew how to handle a ship. They did come down hard, but it wasn't a crash, exactly. The instant they were stopped, Lee yelled," OUT!" and opened the hatch.

John unbuckled and leaped out the exit. He scanned the area while he chambered the first round in his machine gun. He found a few animals, but nothing upright or metallic. "Clear," he called and mapped the area on his HUD. He matched it to the maps he'd been shown and walked for the complex.

"Hey, we need to find the direction to go in," Julie called.

"Found it. This way," John called back. "Stay a minimum of fifty yards behind me."

John walked scanning the brush and trees 180 degrees in front of him as he went. Not only for visuals, but also for infrared, audio and electromagnetic signals. He walked up a slope and slowed as he came to the summit. Scanning beyond, he picked up electromagnetic signals in the direction he was going. Stopping when he was able to see over the summit, he turned his audio up. Somewhere ahead, a branch snapped. Focusing on the direction, he took a single step forward and listened closely.

"What is it?" Julie asked from right behind him.

"I don't know. Breaking wood, ten degrees to the left, approximately one hundred fifty yards," John said. He heard another noise, slightly different. "Another noise, eleven degrees to the left. The target is moving left. We should let the target pass," he added.

"You can hear things that far away?" Julie asked.

"Yes." John kept listening. after two minutes, he determined four entities were moving to the left at a slow walking pace. He took a few more steps to view the area the noises were coming from. Scanning the landscape, he didn't have a visual on the target. Catching a glimpse of heat disappearing into a depression he calculated distance and rate of the target's movement. "Target will be out of audio range in approximately three minutes, twenty seconds. It is safe to proceed," he stated and continued on.

In full Terminator mode, John kept a pointer on the projected location of the target as he moved on. He also kept as much landscape between them and any possible hostile on the left. Behind him he heard Julie and Lee speaking in hushed voices. Continuing on at a normal foot speed of 4 miles an hour, John closed on the complex.

Seeing the buildings through the trees at 200 yards, John stopped. There was movement, there were infrared signatures of guards and from windows, electromagnetic signals were present, though weak, and he heard movement on gravel. From the readings he got, the guards were androids. Cooler than humans and with their heat source in their chests. They were tall though, he really wished he had a plasma rifle.

"Why did you stop?" Julia asked from behind him.

John turned to her and said, "We are here. Buildings are two hundred yards ahead of us. three guards active. Stay here, I will scout the area." He then noted she was staring at him. He looked behind him. He didn't see anything.

"You eyes are glowing red," she stated, sounding nervous.

"Yes, they are. I am in combat mode," John explained. "Stay here, stay low, watch around you. I will return soon." he then headed off to a thicker clump of trees closer to the complex.

.

Julie gulped. John had red eyes. He had glowing frackin red eyes! She watched him go, thinking about every time she'd seen him. She knew he had a metal skull, and knew bullets were useless against him. For all her interactions with him, she had thought of him as a person with metal bones. Seeing the glowing red eyes, it dawned on her that John was more centurion than human.

"Sargent?" Lee asked from beside her.

She looked at him, then back at John. "He really isn't human. At all," she said quietly.

"Hard to believe, I know," Lee agreed. "He doesn't act anything at all like a machine, but the x-rays prove it. We're hoping he's a better machine than those centurions are. That plan he came up with? That was exactly what we were hoping he'd do."

Julie eyed him. "Yes," she said slowly. "You wanted John to take the heat. To do the fighting while we slip in and out," she said.

"That's right. Whether he makes it or not, we get in and save who we can and blow the place."

"And John keeps them occupied while we run away," Julie said in a hard tone.

Lee noted the shift in her mood. "That's right," he said firmly. "We're here to save humans, NOT machines."

.

John sneaked around the complex. He noted the buildings, the guard stations and the road in and out. Five total guards out, reserves were inside. The vehicle in the flat area in front was cool, it hadn't been used in a while. He returned to the Colonial humans who were sitting by trees.

"Here it is," John said and brushed a patch of ground clear of leaves and debris. He drew the four building complex in the dirt and put circles where the stationary guards were.

"Five guards, the patrol I detected earlier most likely came from here. There is a good chance of a patrol surprising us so keep sharp. Three buildings of interest. This one," he said, pointing to the largest, "Holds the most thermal energy, hence is where the most activity is, meaning that is where captured humans are. The building to the right as we will be looking at it is the guard barracks. The one beyond that is also active, and electromagnetic signals emanate from there."

"What's this last one?" Lee asked.

"Disposal and recycling, not a concern," John stated. "From your current position, two guards are visible. I will circle around closer to where the road approaches the complex on the other side. After, and only after I begin shooting, rush the building where the humans are. By the time you get there, the guards will be focused on me. You will have six minutes realistic time to get in, grab who you can and get out. I will allow ten. After ten minutes, I will enter the building for communications and destroy what I can before I seek to eliminate any survivors to protect the direction you are fleeing in."

"You plan sounds perfect," Lee agreed. "John, I don't know how to thank you for doing this."

"Don't get anyone killed. That is how you can thank me," John told him, then trotted away with his machine gun.

Julie took in what John said, and what Lee had planned. Lee was watching ahead. He didn't see the blank look she cast him. She knew he was planning on John being left behind. She decided then that she wasn't going to let that happen.

.

John circled around until he had all three guards in the front in clear view. Staying low, he crawled over to a place just inside the woods to a rock he put his machine gun up on. Starting with the farthest guard, he shot a short burst. That guard fell. He zeroed in on the second guard as both remaining guards trained their arm guns on him. He shot the second guard as bullets crashed against the rock, his shoulder and his head. He lined up and shot the third guard, checked the belt and got up to walk into view.

The barracks door flung open. Centurions poured out, John shot them down. He took a spray of bullets as a guard came around the corner. He downed that one, then sprayed more centurions coming out. He felt rounds impacting him, tearing flesh off his arms and the side of his head. The chest armor was absorbing some bullets enough to keep his torn chest flesh from falling apart.

The centurions kept coming, and John kept shooting them down.

.

Hearing the first rattle of gunfire, Lee barked, "Let's go!" They all rose up and ran for the complex. The one guard they did see at a distance, hurried around the corner to join the action as the sounds of gunfire grew into a solid staccato of blasts. On the other side of those buildings, a war was being fought.

Approaching the door to the target building, Julie Colin announced, "Marcus left guard! Devon to my right! Harlan, get that door open!"

The door wasn't locked. Her private knocked it open and knelt, ready to fire as she looked through her sights down the hallway. They ran in, kicking down doors and began searching. A tall blond stepped into the hall and raised her pistol. She was gunned down before she could get a shot off. A tall dark skinned human that appeared suddenly and got one shot off. Three guns tore into him. He went down. Julie's leg gave way. She fell.

"Sargent!"

"Keep going! Find those people!" Julie yelled and gripped her leg. "I have rear guard!"

.

John had cleared the area of centurions. His ammo belt had only four shots left. He reloaded while he had the chance.

"Good GODS!" a man cried from inside.

John racked the bolt, and burst the front door open. Upon seeing him, the marine just inside the door yelled in surprise and shot.

"HEY! Knock it off!" John roared at the man staring at him and looked in the room where the other were.

There were lines of bunks along the walls. Women were strapped to the bunks, obviously drugged. Some moaned, others cried. A few were cold and dead.

Lee was slack jawed as he stared at the women. "This is ... inhuman!" he choked out.

John counted those still alive. "There are eleven we can save," he said from behind Lee. "We cannot transport them. Go get the raptor, we will need another too. I'll hold here."

Lee glanced at him then did a double take. Johns' face on the right was all but gone, his left red eye shining from a silver skull. Even where there was flesh there were bullet holes showing silver dots within. His left shoulder was bare metal as was the upper arm. Lee lowered his gaze to see John was shot up all over. In places, bits of flesh hung off him. In other places, flesh was ripped away to show metal underneath. He was bloody from head to his bullet ridden boots.

"What?" John asked, seeing his stunned look.

"You ... your skin..." Lee stuttered.

"Yeah, I'm ugly now," John said heavily. "You go get into a gun fight with a dozen of those things and see how you do."

"You're still standing," Lee said in disbelief.

John gripped his shoulder with a skeletal silver hand and gave him a shake. "Hey, flyboy, WAKE UP! We need two raptors to get these people out of here, you need to go get them, get your shit together and MOVE!"

Lee stared at him briefly, then raced out.

"John!"

John heard Julie's voice call out. He also saw four other men watching him. He pointed to the women and said, "Get them untied, do what you can for them. I'll be back." He went out to find Julie.

.

Julie heard John's voice and then Lee ran past, calling on the radio. "John!" she yelled. She'd bandaged her leg, but it hurt too much to get up. She tried again, leaning against the wall and pushing with her good leg, and her rifle. Running footsteps came up.

"Let me help," John said.

A bloody hand clasped her arm. An arm went around her. The hand she saw on her side was silver. She looked up to see John's destroyed face. She screamed.

"OK, OK, I'm ugly, get over it," John said as he held her up against him. She was unstable so he scooped her up in a bride's carry.

"What happened to you!" she cried.

"Got in a fight. I'm taking you to the front so you can be a lookout," he told her. He found a chair in the room with the other women and parked her in it to look outside. Firmly, he said, "Get it together Marine! Your squad needs to get these people ready to move, Adama went for raptors, you have to keep watch. I still have to go destroy the communications." He then grabbed his machine gun and ran out.

Julie watched him sprint by the window outside. She also saw all the downed centurions scattered on the ground. He did that and not only survived, but was still able to fight? John wasn't a cylon, he was a frackin tank!

.

John kicked the door to the communications building open and strode in. A blond man raised a pistol and shot. John strode towards him, the man shot again. John aimed at his elbow and let rip with a short burst that tore than man's arm off. The man went down screaming.

The first room looked like a bunk room. Turning down the hall where he heard excited voices, he walked in to see a tall blond woman with a pistol aiming at him, and another short dark haired Asian with her hand in a container of liquid. They must be sisters to other's he'd seen. "You shoot and you will be sorry," John stated heavily and aimed at Blondie's knees.

"What are you?" The blond asked weakly.

"Stronger, faster and smarter than you'll ever be," he stated. He then swung his barrel to point at the Asian woman. "Get your hand out of there, or I shoot it out."

She only started at him. John cut loose, shooting first the container, which made her recoil, then plastered the controls. He dumped 50 rounds into the panels that sparked and shattered. The Asian woman backed over to the blond.

Looking around, John looked for a chair. There wasn't one. There was framing the controls had been on. "All right, both of you, go over to those frame pieces and get intimate with them," he instructed.

"What?" the blond asked.

"Go over and hug the frackin supports!" he ordered. "One on one side, one on the other."

They went over and did as he told them. The blond asked, "What are you? A colonial centurion?"

"I should slap you for that," he growled. He took the ammo belt out of the machine gun and set it down, then went over to the ruined consoles and ripped a length of metal free.

The Blond glanced at the gun. She spun to dive for it. He intercepted her with a punch to the gut and spun her back to face plant her back in place.

"You're making me hurt you," he chided.

Her nose bloodied, the blond asked, "You are not one of us, where are you from?"

John wrapped them in place with the metal strip then twisted it to keep them in place as he said, "Name's John Connor Junior. You're right, I'm not a weak, ignorant and warlike cylon. And frack you for even thinking I'm colonial. They are no better than you are."

The blond man came in, gripping his arm stump. He stared at John with pain written on his face. John looked at his arm and said, "Wait a moment, I'll stop that bleeding." He made sure the women weren't going anywhere fast, then walked over to the man.

"You aren't colonial, you didn't kill us," the man said.

"Bright one, aren't you?' John asked. "Where's your medical kit?"

The man shook his head. "We don't have one. We resurrect when we die."

"That's just plain stupid," John told him. He ripped the front of the man's shirt off and made a bandage. "I don't know who's worse, you or the colonials. Both your races are fracked out of your heads."

John applied a pressure bandage, then forced the man to sit with a frame piece to his back. "Someone's sure you be along soon to get you free. Until then, just sit there and relax."

"Please, tell us where you're from," the man begged.

"Los Angeles, ring a bell?" John asked.

"What?"

"I came from my mother, OK? Just sit tight," John said and ripped another metal strip free to tie the man up with.

"You were BORN?" the Asian woman cried.

"Did I stutter?" John asked. He wrapped the man to the post then went over and picked up his machine gun and reloaded it.

"How? How were you born?" the blond asked.

John eyed her and said, "Well, you see, Mom and Dad got along real good. They had sex, I grew in Mom's belly, then they had to put up with me until I grew up. I'd love to stay and chat, but I got things to do. See ya." he then jogged out.

"WAIT!" the blond cried. He didn't.

.

John scanned the sky, hoping to see a raptor coming. Nothing. Not even something to shoot at. Where in the hell was Adama? Returning to the squad and the women, he walked in to find the squad was waiting too. "Any word on those raptors?" he asked.

Julie shook her head.

"John?" the marine named Marcus said, "There's not much more we can do with these women. They need serious medical help. Mission is to rescue or put them out of their misery."

Sternly, John said, "We aren't killing any of them. Raise your gun to one, and I will kill you before you can get a shot off."

"You wouldn't!" Julie stated.

"I will. The raptors will be here, just wait," John said firmly.

Outside, the screeching sound of a jet grew. John raced out and searched for the source. A single raptor flew in and set down hard. That had to be Adama. He called into the building, "Ride's here, get them up and moving!"

The side hatch opened, Lee ran out, looking out of breath. "The others already left. We pack all we can in, we have to get out of here."

John nodded. "Understood, get in the pilot seat, I can pack a ship like a sardine can." he dropped his machine gun and ran back in the building.

There were only six seats on the raptor. It was going to be a tight fit. He strode in and loudly said, "Listen up! We have to get as many people as we can in that raptor! All you women, raise your hand if you can sit with someone on your lap!"

"I will to get out of here!" one woman cried.

John pointed to her, "Get her on and sitting in a seat, hurry!"

Another woman raised her hand, then another. With the hope of escape right here, five women raised their hands. John's next question was ,"Who can sit up? If you can, do it!"

John filled most of the seats with women, then got five women in their laps. The last seat was taken up by Harlan with a woman on her lap. He then had them sitting on the floor in between the seats. After that, it got tight. A marine sat tucked under the ECO console, one on each side, and the ECO had a lap-buddy too. Julie was tucked in the last clear floor space behind the pilot and co-pilot.

"John, sit here, I'll sit on your lap," Julie said, keeping a grip on him.

"Someone's going to get hurt, packed in like this," Lee warned.

"At least they will be alive," John countered. "I'll go activate the charges." To Julie, he said, "I'll be back." he pried her hand loose.

She gripped him with the other one. "No! Don't leave! Just shut the hatch," she cried.

"This place is suppose to be blown up," John countered.

"John, if you get out, Adama is going to leave you here!" she cried.

"What?" he asked and cast a heavy gaze at the pilot.

"You were never suppose to survive fighting the centurions!" Julie cried. "The plan was to leave while they were fighting you."

John could see on Adama's face, she was telling the truth. "So, you were so worried about trusting me, huh?" John asked in a grating tone.

"We have to go," Lee stated. He shut the hatch and lifted off.

John had a hard time keeping his feet and not falling on anyone as Lee lifted off. Julie held onto him. He managed to wiggle under her and get her on his lap. Once he was in place, he put an arm around her and grabbed a support to hold them in place.

"Lee Adama," John said plenty loud enough for him to hear. "When we get back, you are getting your ass kicked. Don't make any plans except for a visit to Doc Cottle's clinic for a week or two."

"That's assault!" Julie snapped.

"You're right, it will be."

Softer, Julie asked, "John, please don't." Sifting around so she could see his face, she said, "I'm begging you, let it go."

John got it. She had told him about Adama's plan to make sure he didn't get left behind. Since she had told him about it, she most likely was going to be in trouble if he beat on Adama. That was something he didn't want. "All right, as long as no one says a word about it, or you telling me the truth." Louder, he asked, "Hear that Adama?"

"Not a word," Lee said tightly.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

Commander Adama and Saul Tigh were in CIC when the raptors were picked up coming in. The group rescuing the rebels in the hills reported three dead, five wounded and a raptor lost. They got all but twelve of the rebels off alive. Six of them died, there were no seats for the other six. They volunteered to stay behind.

"Better than I expected," Saul Tigh said.

These ships were landed by the time one last raptor came on the screen.

"This is Raptor C-1 Apollo, we have twelve wounded on board. Need medical help ASAP."

"Twelve wounded?" Saul Tigh asked. "Raptors aren't big enough to hold that many people."

Commander Adama got on the mic. "This is Galactica actual, Apollo, how many people are on your ship? Did you pick up some wounded marines?"

"Galactica, we have seventeen people on board. It's packed. We need serious medical help."

"Seventeen?" Saul Tigh asked. "How the FRACK do you pack that many people on a Raptor?"

.

The landing was tough. Not only for Lee who did his best to land softly, but the pained cries from women who had others on their laps. John felt the pinch from Julie briefly crushing into him, so he knew they had to be hurting.

They were towed into the hanger bay to stop by an emergency aid station set up for them. When the hatch was open, a marine spilled out. The medics went to help him. He cried, "Not me, them!" and pointed inside.

.

Commander Adama watched in awe as women were taken off the raptor one after another in a solid stream, on board marines helping to get the stretchers off. There seemed no end to the flow. It was almost like watching a circus act from long ago, one tiny car filled with a bunch of clowns in it. Once the women, and most of the marines got off, the ECO appeared, followed by a nightmare carrying Sargent Colin.

People gasped when John, covered in blood and showing large splotches of bare metal, stepped out of the raptor. Much of his metal insides was visible, along with one glowing red eye. The medics backed away. There were no stretchers left, so John took Julie over to a table and laid her on it. Only after they were off, did Lee emerge. Tigh let out a grumble, he hand't planned on that cylon returning.

Lee went over to his father and saluted. "Mission accomplished, Commander. We retrieved every prisoner who was alive, and suffered only one casualty. Sargent Colin was shot in the leg."

"What happened to our cylon friend, someone put him though a meat grinder?" Tigh asked.

Lee glanced at John, who was tending to the Sargent.

"Sir, he took on all the centurions by himself. He destroyed every one of them," Lee explained. Glancing at Tigh, he added, "He also packed everyone onto the Raptor. He wouldn't let us leave anyone behind."

"I take it that place wasn't guarded as heavily as we thought," Tigh noted.

"Wrong, Sir," Lee stated. "John killed eleven centurions that I counted, plus however many were in their communications building. Without our help. We did get three bio-cylons."

Commander Adama wasn't happy John was back, but he had to admit what the thing did was impressive. "See that he gets bandaged and whatever help he needs. We'll do the mission debriefing once you arrive."

.

Julie was lucky, the bullet had gone though her muscle and exited without doing any serious damage. Some disinfectant, stitching and crutches, and she was ready for her two weeks of recovery.

"I look like a frackin mummy," John grumbled. Besides trying to save as much of his skin as possible, the Commander didn't want him showing any metal so he was wrapped head to toe in bandages and had white gloves on to hide his bare metal hand. The first place he wanted to go was to get more food. He needed a ton of nutrients if he was to heal all this damage.

Julie waited by John as the line of women were taken to Doc Cottle's clinic to be thoroughly checked out and get surgeries many of them needed. Many were still crying, but now it was in relief.

Julie elbowed John lightly and said, "You did good back there."

"I try. You know, I feel like I just came out of a horror movie," he told her.

"You look like it too."

John closed a fist with his thumb stuck up and said, "Way to make me feel good."

Julie chuckled and asked, "You hungry?"

"Starving. I need nutrients. Lots of them."

"I don't know about the nutrient value, but we can go get something to eat," she offered.

Looking at the stairs up to the exit, he asked, "And possibly help to get up those stairs?"

"I'd appreciate it."

He nodded to the line of stretchers leaving and said, "Soon as the train leaves."

.

Commander Adama had all the pilots involved with the rescue down to receive awards for their brave actions. Sitting in his office, he looked at the list. Two Marines were also going to receive awards for extraordinary heroism under fire. There was one name submitted that he paused at.

John Connor.

He had mixed emotions about that thing. Connor wasn't human. Connor also took on a large pack of centurions by himself, as well as made sure every living human got out of that torture prison. He knew it was Connor's presence that made sure no marines or prisoners were lost during his portion of that raid. If Connor was human, he'd be getting a Presidential citation with the press in attendance. As it was, he was still nervous about letting that thing walk around on the ship, even if it was closely monitored. He also didn't want to be seen giving an award to any metal in front of his men. It just might cause a mutiny.

He stuck Connor's name out.

.

One good thing John found out about being wrapped up like a mummy was that others were decent to him, not knowing who was under all those wraps with only one eye showing. By the time John and Julie had their rations (double rations due to the heroic effort of saving those women on Caprica), word was getting around that the 'mummy man' had taken on and killed a dozen centurions by himself.

Julie wanted to have a drink and relax. Since the bar that had been made on board was down on the starboard flight pod, John carried her down. He also cautioned her not to overdo it, since she was wounded.

At the bar, wounded marines didn't pay, and by now, just being near John got Julie treated like a queen. John sat and slowly nursed a fruit drink and kept an eye on Julie. He needed to perform some standby time, but waited until she was ready to go.

As the bar got drunker, first one marine, then another decided to sing some karaoke with no music. Many in the bar sang along. When a colonial marine anthem was sung, nearly everyone joined in, including Julie who raise her glass as she sang along with them.

Then a microphone was shoved at John. "Hey fella, your turn, give it a shot," a man said, staggering over him.

"Yeah, John sings good," Julie heartily agreed as she sat leaning against him.

"Lips still work don't they." the grinning man asked.

"That going through hell song," Julie prodded.

"He knows it?" another man asked.

"Frack yeah!" Julie announced, "He made it … for me!"

"No shit."

"There was no feces involved," John told them.

Everyone in earshot roared in laughter. Yup, they were toasted.

"Come on John," Julie prodded again. "Maybe a song about you?" she asked coyly.

John thought for a moment, then took the mic. "Keep in mind, I don't have any music, so if I suck, it's not my fault.'

Laughter roared again, along with prods for him to get singing.

In his best voice, John sang.

 _To dream, the impossible dream_

 _To fight, the unbeatable foe_

 _To bear, with unbearable sorrow_

 _To run, where the brave dare not go_

 _To right, the unrightable wrong_

 _To be, better far than you are_

 _To try, when your heart is to weary_

 _To reach, that unreachable star_

 _._

 _This is my quest, to follow that star_

 _No matter how hopeless, not matter how far_

 _To be willing to give, when there's no more to give_

 _To be willing to try and to do it or die so that honor and justice may live_

 _._

 _And I know, as long as I'm true_

 _To this glorious quest_

 _That my heart will be peaceful and calm_

 _When I'm laid to my rest_

 _._

 _And the worlds will be better for this_

 _that one man, scorned and covered in scars_

 _Still strove with his last ounce of courage_

 _To reach, that unreachable star_

John didn't think he did that bad. Julie dove into him weeping. A roar of cheering rose up, mixed with applause. Several people clapped him on the back. Another woman hugged him. As the cheering went on, he was thinking 'enough already'. Another drink was also set in front of him.

Julie pushed at another woman who gave John a hug. "Off, he's mine!" she cried.

The other woman scowled a drunken scowl at Julie. Before the woman could use that balled up fist, John stood up between them. "OK, I think we've had enough," he announced.

"I'm not that drunk!" Julie proclaimed.

John held up his hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked, holding up his index finger.

"Two" Julie stated.

"You've had enough," he told her. He bent over and scooped her up in his arms and picked up her crutches.

"I can walk," she protested as she held onto him, both arms around his neck.

"You can fall down too," he told her.

"How are you going to get me into my bunk?" Julie asked a she gazed at him.

"I'm not, you're sleeping it off in my bed," John said.

Another roar of cheers and whistles rose up. He added, "I'll take the floor tonight." Laughter followed.

.

John Cavil eyed the rescued cylons and asked, "You said his name was John Connor? He told you that?"

"He did," Eva Six said. "He cut though our centurions like they weren't even there! Their guns did nothing except rip some flesh off him. He shot them down one after the other."

"I shot him, it did nothing to him. He had some sort of internal armor," Hanson Leoben said.

"He's not from the colonies," Tina Eight added.

"We tried to find out where he was from but he didn't say. He did call us slow and weak. Compared to him, we are," Eva said.

"We need to find him," Cavil stated. "We need to know where he came from, and why he's here. Is he some sort of scout? Are there more of these non cylons walking around to surprise us? Did humans make him? Where did he go when he left?"

"Seeing how he was wearing human like skin, it's possible he came with the humans. We don't know where he went after he left." Tina said.

"We did hear what sounded like a colonial raptor," Eva added.

"There is another thing, John Connor said he was born, natural birth by his mother," Tina said

"What?" Cavil asked with a chuckle. "How does a half centurion abomination get born? Tell me how steel is grown."

"We don't know. It is hard to believe."

"Another thing of note, he didn't kill us," Hanson said. "He didn't shoot me until after I shot him twice. Then he blew my arm off. After he tied up the Six and the Eight, he bandaged my arm. He called our resurrection system stupid."

"He called us weak, slow and ignorant," Eva added.

"We have to find him," Cavil said firmly. "We canvas the planet and send out ships to find the Colonials. We get close enough to transmit to my brother and have him search for this John Connor there. We need to know everything we can about him and how much of a threat he is to us."

.

John came out of standby with Julie curled up against him, am arm and a leg over him. His original plan of sitting in a chair or lying on the floor was dashed from Julie's pleading she 'needed' him to lay down with her. He gave in. She kissed him a few times and snuggled. He rubbed her back for a while and Julie passed out hugging him. Julie snored. It was a good thing he was able to tune out his audio sensors. Although, she did feel pretty good lying up next to him.

Carefully, John slipped out from under Julie's grasp. Looking down on the woman with light brown hair scattered partway onto her face, he noted she was pretty. She was also in very good physical shape. She had to be, being a marine. She was one of the very few here that liked him. Her presence made being stuck here livable.

John took the glove off his left hand. The flesh was healing fine, but slowly. There was so much flesh damage, it was going to take him weeks to regenerate. He had used many of the nutrients he'd taken in , he needed more. Before he left, he filled a cup of water and left Julie a note. Focusing on his bare hand, he collected nanites into the split on his finger, then used the finger to stir the water. The nanites that mixed into the water would survive for ten hours. Once Julie drank them, they would spread out in her body and dull the pains she was going to have when she woke up as well as help heal her leg where she'd been shot.

A shirt and pants over his mummified body, John headed for the mess decks. People he passed by seemed friendlier. He exchanged waves and assured others he was healing fine.

He got in line and got his green nutrient squares. He was going to head back to his room, but a group near a radio waved him over and offered him a seat.

"John, right?" a crewman asked. "Have a seat, Decker recorded that song you sang, and one of the music groups are going to put it to music."

"Why?" John asked and took the seat.

"It was good, man!" a marine said. "Top notch! You should get your own band together."

John winced. "I ahh, don't like to stand out."

"Too late for that. Everyone knows you wiped out a dozen Centurions. It's like your made of steel!"

"Not steel," John stated.

A few people laughed.

John knew he was about to make a mistake, but he wanted to get one thing clear. "Guys? I'm not a colonial."

The marine looked at him. "Wait, I heard something about that. You're not a cylon, are you?"

"No, I'm not a cylon either. My ... planet of origin isn't anywhere near any of yours," John explained. "From what I understand, your war with these cylons is very similar to what we went through about 40 years ago. See, we didn't have multiple planets, just one. Yes it started as a war between AI and human, and it was pretty fierce. The thing is, like with many wars, it was one AI called Sky Net that started it. Everyone, including other AI's realized we were destroying our planet with this war. Without going into detail, enough AI's realized the danger and turned on Skynet to shift the war heavily against Sky Net. The AI's that survived Sky Net's purge were lead by Catherine Weaver, an advanced AI. She made a pact with my father, John Connor, to get rid of Sky Net. They worked together, ended Sky Net and organized all the survivors, human, machine, and the ones in between, to rebuild society, made new laws and tech to get rid of the radiation from all the nuclear bombs that were dropped."

"So, what are you?" a woman asked eyeing him closely.

"I'm a cyborg. Part human, part machine. It only makes sense I suppose, Dad was human, Mom was a terminator. I'm named after him, my sister Sarah is named after Dad's mother," John explained.

"Whoa, just how is a cyborg born?" the woman asked.

John let out a huff and said, "Ok, humans have red and white blood cells that assist in healing. The original cyborgs use what's called nanites. Don't ask me how, but some scientists got together and figured out how to make blood cells and nanites work together. So I have both. My nanites can assist my biologics to heal. My white blood cells can also get rid of any infectious materials from my metal parts so my biologics do not get infected. My DNA determines what I look like, just as yours does, only in my case, there are strands in my DNA that also contain the ... shape and composition of my metallic parts that the nanites build and take care of. Biological cells divide and nanites build my non biological material."

"No shit," one man said in a breath.

"Do you have any metal showing now so we can see?" another man asked.

John took off his left glove and showed them his hand that was now discolored, but whole. "This hand is almost healed up, In a few days, the bruising and those little pits will be gone." He then took off his right glove, which hid his skeletal hand. "This one took much more damage. You can see back here by my wrist my flesh is growing back."

The woman turned his hand to look at his palm and said, "Flex your hand."

He did and explained, "As you can see, the tendons are a metallic substance called Coltan, as are my bones."

"And you were born this way," the woman said in fascinated disbelief.

"Is everyone on your planet like this?" the marine asked.

"No. There are pure humans and pure AI Machines. Many of the people, at least half now I think, are cyborgs," John said in a musing tone. "At least most of my classes in school had right around that mix."

"You went to school?" a man asked.

"Well, yeah," John said eyeing him. "Every sentient being does no matter what they are, it's required. School is for socialization and communication as well as knowledge. One thing we found is ignorant people are dangerous to themselves and others. We don't want any ignorant people on Earth," he said with a grin. The way people's mouths opened and eyes widen at his words made him ask, "What?"

"You are from Earth, really?" A man asked.

Aww shit, he hadn't meant that to slip out. "Is that bad?" he asked with a wince.

"We've been searching for Earth."

"Can you get us there?"

"Does the Commander know?"

"How come you haven't told anyone before now?" another man cried.

These questions were fired at him on top of each other. John shrank back from the verbal assault. Holding up his hands he cried, "Wait, hold on."

"But you can lead us there!"

"Ahh, I think I need to explain a few things," he said quickly.

"We're listening."

"OK, the reason I'm out here was a mistake," John said patiently as he put his gloves back on. "I was sent out on a PDE, Position Displacement Equipment. It's like a jump you do with your ships, but there is no ship. Anyway I was pointed at what our scientists believe is a habitable planet. Your ship got in the way of the beam and I landed here instead of on that planet I was aimed at. I was suppose to find out if it was a good planet, but I never got there. We are looking for a good place to live on also."

"What's a PDE?"

"Best explanation, it's an energy beam that carries in this case, me, to another place. When the beam hits the solid object, I ... materialize," John said.

"So you can travel across space and you don't need a ship?" one man asked.

"I can't, I had to use the PDE. They aren't really mobile. As far as the exact direction I was pointing in, the scientists knew that, I didn't," John said to tell them as much of the truth as he could.

"How were you suppose to get back?" the woman asked.

John shook his head. "I'm not. I went knowing this was a one-way trip. I can't go home. The most I can do it try to call home and hope someone picks up on it."

"That sounds like suicide," the woman said.

John shrugged and said, "It could have been. We are getting desperate for another planet to live on. The reason we're sending cyborgs, is because us cyborgs have the best chance of survival. With the intelligence of an AI and the reasoning power and imagination of a human, not having to breathe, and having interior armor, we are the best at dealing with extreme situations."

"You'll never see your family again," the woman stated.

"Nope. Then again, my parents died and my sister thinks I'm an idiot, so I won't be missed that much," John said with a shrug.

"John, why didn't you wake me up?"

John turned to see Julie hobbling up to the table on her crutches. All the chairs were full. He and two other men got up and offered their chairs.

"I'll get some rations for you," John said as he helped get Julie seated.

"Thank you. Next time, get me up," Julie said and sat down.

As John left the announcer on the radio was telling about another inspirational song by the mysterious John that was about to play.

.

Julie remembered part of it, but hearing it sober now, made her think. She'd asked John to do a song about himself. It was good, and inspirational. It was also sad, the way he described himself as 'scorned'. He was right, none of the brass liked him, and only his non-violence kept him out of an airlock, despite of the good he had done.

"So?" one of the deck hands asked, eyeing her with a grin.

Julie cast her a sad smirk. "If you must know, I passed out and John was a good boy . Damn it."

"You are close though, aren't you? He carried you off the raptor and up the stairs, and you did sleep with him," another woman prodded.

"He looks out for me. As far as anything else, I don't know. I'd like to think so," she admitted.

"Have you seen his hand?" a private asked. "He is metal on the inside."

"I saw more than that," Julie said with a wince. "He's all ripped up, head to toe. John took one hell of a beating from those centurions. Anyone else would have died many times over from the damage he took. Under those wraps, he looks like he crawled out of hades. John is one tough guy. Also a good one."

"Sarge, you think one of his people might come looking for him?" the private asked.

"They won't," she said sadly. "And I know he won't try to get home either. Not as long as we're watching."

John came back with a cup of coffee and a plate of food squares. He set them down in front of Julie. "Bon appetite."

"What?" Julia asked eyeing him.

"It means enjoy your food, more or less," John explained and sat back down by her.

"I think it will be less," Julie grumbled. "It gets tiring eating the same thing every frackin day."

"At least it's food," John offered.

"Barely."

.

'Reverend' John Cavil thanked his hosts for the rescue off Caprica and the room to set up a church so he could minister to the faithful. He whistled happily as he set up the few religious items he could scrounge up. No one suspected a thing.

He had no more than spent the night here when the hidden amplifier in the fleet send him a burst message. : Find John Connor. Why his brothers were worried about one human, he didn't know. Maybe this was a leader like Adama, but one working behind the scenes. He file away the request until he got some information.

His church was a success. Humans came to him for services and private inspiration. He smiled and was friendly to the meat bags the whole time and told them what they wanted to hear. Karl Agathon, the one the traitorous Eight had ran off with even came for some comfort, seeing his 'wife' was still being held in the brig. John told the idiot to have faith and said all the appropriate things to ease his mind.

With all the sincerity he could muster, he added, "Remember, the Gods are always with us."

Helo nodded, then asked, "There is something else bothering me. We have this guy who just showed up on the ship. He's not a cylon, at least not like any cylon we know of. He's strange. He'll mouth off to anyone, but he has saved many also. He criticized our mission, but went anyway and did damn good. He's confusing."

John the reverend shrugged and said, "Maybe he is in turmoil. He hasn't gotten into any fights, has he?"

Helo grinned and said. "One. Starbuck shot him so he beat her to the floor. They really don't get along."

"He has recovered I hope."

"He walked away with two bullets in him like they were nothing. Coming back from a mission, he was all tore up. He did his job well. Not one marine was killed. Only one got a leg wound. Gotta say he's tough. He can also be very irritating."

"Have him come in and see me. Possible I can help him. It sounds like your friend truly in need of spiritual guidance. Remind him, anything said here does not go beyond these walls," John coaxed.

"He's not my friend, but if I see him, I'll tell him."

"If he won't come to me, the I will go to him. Please tell him I do want to help."

Helo got up. "I will. Thank you, Reverend."

John Cavil nodded with a smile and a wave. He wanted to see this human who could be shot and not fall down screaming or dead.

.

John escorted Julie to the marine workout area. She was jumping the gun, wanting to get back in shape before she was healed. He and another marine did manage to coax her to limit herself on upper body exercises. Spotting for her as she pumped the barbell, he heard the Gunny belt out, "Connor! The XO wants to see you!"

John glanced over at her. "I'm busy," he replied.

"NOW!"

Another marine came over. "I'll spot," he said.

John let him take the job and followed the Gunny out. As they walked, she snapped, "The Marine training area is NOT a social club. Do not go in there again!"

"I was helping one of your marines, so frack off," John told her.

The hard woman spun on him. "Perhaps you need a lesson taught to you," she growled.

"Great, I like to learn. Teach me," he replied, and cast her a smile.

Her face turned red. She spun back and stomped away. Wow, was she ever mad.

Instead of the XO, he was taken to CIC where Lee Adama met him. Lee motioned him to the back of the room.

"We have a problem down in the lower holds I think you can help with," Lee said. "There's a group called the Sons of Ares. It's a group of thugs. They are so bad down there marines don't even like to go down there without full battle gear. Frankly, we don't have the resources to clean them out."

John got it, he was to play policeman. "Just what do you want me to do?" he asked.

"See what's really going on down there. We have reports of pimping women out for food, slavery and all kids of nasty stuff. When you find the culprits, do whatever you have to and stop them. Frankly, short of ripping a hole in the side of the ship, I don't care how you stop them."

"Do you have any jail cells? Besides the one you put me in, I mean," John asked.

"We do. The gunny will show you some holding cells if you can take them alive."

John cast him a smirk and said, "You of all people should know how tolerant I am. You do know Sargent Colin kept you from being beaten bloody, right?"

Lee stiffened. "Will you do it?" he asked tightly

"Yeah, I was getting bored anyway. Might be fun," John said. He turned and went to look for the Gunny. She was standing not far behind him. She looked at Lee, turned and left. John followed.

The holding cells the Gunny lead John to were just that. Plain steel bar cages lined up in a long room a couple decks above the holds where the trouble was. Stiffly, the Gunny said, "If you can catch any, put them in here. We'll transport them to a safer holding area."

"Got it. So, where are they?" he asked.

"In the holds. They are like rats. They disappear whenever we go down there. We are hoping you can help catch them."

"So just go down and figure it out for myself, huh? I can do that." John told her. "Where's the way down?"

.

John walked down the stairs and stopped at the bottom. "You've got to be kiddin," he breathed.

Before him was a checkerboard of tightly packed little cubicles, all filled with ragged people. Some had blankets for privacy, others didn't. He walked slowly, eyeing the poor refugees. Blank faces looked up at him, mostly women and children. Some were old men, but not many. All were thin and looked weak from lack of food. This was human refuse.

Suddenly, he felt guilty about eating that handful of food squares earlier.

John walked through the cavernous hold, finding nothing but the poor and forgotten. The smell alone told him there were no proper sanitary measures, like enough toilets. Noting an area that was blocked off with a sheet metal wall, he walked towards it. Going around to an opening, he saw a scrawny man sitting in a chair, cleaning his fingernails with a knife. He walked up to the man.

The man eyed him and said, "Fee's ten food squares to get in. The deal you make after you're in, is up to you."

"Are you one of the Sons or Ares?" John asked.

"You could get your throat cut asking that," the man said in a hard tone. "Pay up, or turn around and leave."

John shot a hand out and grabbed the man by his wrist that was holding the knife and jerked him upright. He punched the man in his solar plexus. The man folded, eyes wide as he tried to breathe. John tossed him to the floor and walked in.

In this closed off section, women were in their animal cage sized enclosures showing a lot of skin. They smiled and beckoned him closer. John ignored them and looked around. Sure enough there was a burly, well fed man in the back of the room. The man got up and strode towards him.

"If you came for trouble, you found it," the man warned.

"Good. Are you a Son of Ares?" John asked.

"If I am?"

"Then I am going to drag you out of here and put you in a cage," John stated.

The man laughed. He pulled a pistol and said, "You just got yourself killed."

John charged as he shot. He punched the man hard enough to knock him out. John picked up the pistol, stuck it in his waistband and looked around. Other than gaping faces of the women, he didn't see any other targets. He grabbed the man by his ankle and dragged him out. At the entrance the scrawny man was gasping on his hands and knees. John knocked him out with a hit to the back of his head. He tucked the knife in his pocket, then grabbed an ankle and dragged him out also.

Two down.

On the way out, three men stood in front of the stairs. "Who the frack are you?" the one in the middle asked.

"I am hunting Sons of Ares," John replied.

"At least you found us before you die," the man said. All three pulled knives and charged. John attacked, and dropped them one by one. The stab he got in the side ripped his shirt. Angry, John broke that one's arm before he knocked him out.

Looking down on the men, John let out a huff and said, "I should have brought some rope with me." At least two of them had belts on their pants. Using a sharper one of the knives, he split the belts lengthwise and tied their hands behind their backs. He then ripped the bigger man's shirt and sliced that up to tie their necks together into a continuous leash. He tore the arms off another's shirt to reinforce the leash. He then sat down on the steps, waiting for them to wake up.

Stares and whispers came from the mass of cubicles. One healthy looking man came close enough to see him, then hurried away. John bolted after him. It was a merry chase The man ran as fast as he could between the cubicles. John followed, but slow enough to let the man keep going. He was running to warn someone. John wanted to find out who.

Running the length of the hold, the man was breathing hard and looked frantic. He made a hatch and pulled it open. As soon as John saw the hatch, he sped up. The man was ducking through when John gave him a shove and catapulted him through. John shut the hatch behind them and bent the handle to lock it shut.

Stumbling up from the floor, the man pointed at John and cried, "He's frackin police!"

"I am not," John said loudly. He note eight more men stood up from the chairs and couches they lounged on. Guns were drawn and aimed at him.

"You're dead unless you got a real good reason to be here," a tough looking man stated loudly.

"I do," John said. "And I will tell you now, whoever shoots will be leaving here with broken bones. I'm not in a good mood."

"Tough shit, Tell us who you are, or we waste you!"

"John Connor, cyborg, and I'm here to haul your asses into holding. You can come peacefully, or you can go kicking and screaming."

"You're fracked in the head. Boys, teach him a lesson he'll never forget!" the man growled.

John noted some cargo netting holding many cases of food. Good, he had something to put these guys in.

Five came at him hard and fast. In a flurry, John knocked three out, shattered a jaw and sent the other to kiss the wall hard to break his nose. That one fell unconscious also.

"KILL HIM!"

The shots came, John ran at the men. He broke arms and legs. The leader was the last, John broke both his arms and snapped a collar bone just because.

Seeing the fight was taken out of the men now moaning in pain, John pulled the food boxes out of the net and took the net down. He spread the net on a clear space of floor, then tossed men into it. The screaming leader, he tossed a little higher to land in the pile. Wrapping them up, he found some strap to tie the netting shut, then got the hatch open. When he pulled the net full of men out, he heard a snap. Someone screamed. John pulled again, and the net came out to flop on the floor, eliciting another scream.

All eyes were on John as he dragged the men back to the stairs. Silent wide eyes followed him all the way as the men in the net cried out and cursed.

Shit, he had a lot of men to get up those stairs. Oh well. He walked over his other captives, dragging the net over them. More screaming. Again the net caught on the hand rails. A hard tug and a yelp of pain later and he was dragging them up the stairs, bumping along as pleas for mercy sounded from the net.

By the time he put them in a holding cell, the screams had softened into pained moans. One man was crying. He shut the door, locked it and went back for the rest.

The original five were awake and much more cooperative now. They got up and he led them on their leash into another holding cell. The cells locked, John went to find the Gunny. She was elusive, so he went back to CIC to find Mr. Grumpy was there.

"What do you want?" Tigh grumbled at him

John jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Those Ares Sons are in the holding cells the Gunny showed me. You might want to get someone down there, they are in a bit of pain." John said and left.

Walking down the hallway towards his room, John looked down at himself. He had a few more holes in his clothes, a couple leaking blood. Crap, he was going to have to sit and pull bullets out of himself again.

"Fella, you all right? Looks like you've been shot!"

John looked up at a strange sight. The man wore some kind of religious garb by the white square on his neck collar. A quick scan told him it was another cylon. "Yeah, people don't like me. Happens all the time," John grumbled and walked past him.

"The Doc's clinic is the other way," the man said, pointing back the way John had come from.

"Don't need to go, now stop bothering me," John said.

The Cylon followed him saying, "You need to be treated, you're probably in shock."

John spun, grabbed him by the throat and planted him against the wall. "What I need," John growled in his face, "Is for you to go away. Don't ever speak to me again." He then threw the Cylon to the floor.

The cylon gaped at him from where he landed. John left him there and walked on.


	4. Chapter 4

CH 4

Julie was having a good day. Even though her leg felt much better, her LT. insisted she go see Doc Cottle before she stopped using her crutches. The wait to get in the clinic wasn't long, and the Doc cleared her to use a cane. Her leg was healing much faster than normal.

Walking with a cane was much easier. OK, so she did need to lean on it, but that wasn't a big deal. Heading for the hallway to John's room to see if he was back yet, a reverend raced around the corner just ahead. Seeing her, he pointed back the way he had come and looking frantic, said, "There's a man in bandages who's been shot! I think he's in shock, he was rather rude to me."

Julie shook her head, wondering who John pissed off now. "How many?" she asked.

"How many what?" the reverend asked tentatively.

"Holes. How many holes in him now?" she asked with a huff.

The reverend eyed her and said, "Seven that I saw."

"Relax, I'll take care of him," she said as she went past.

"He need medical attention," the reverend insisted.

Julie glanced back at him and said, "John will be fine."

"His name is John?"

She stopped and looked back at the Reverend. "John Connor, and if he can withstand twelve centurions shooting at him all at once, a few bullets is not going to bother him. Relax." She then went on her way.

She turned the corner, noting the reverend was staring at her.

Getting to John's room, she banged on the door. "John, it's Julie."

"Come in if you want. I'm showing ugly."

Julie went in. John was in front of the mirror, his head wrap off. He used his metal fingers to pull a bullet out of his forehead. "I can help you," she offered. She studied his face. Skin was growing back all around the edges of his wounds, showing a much smaller area of metal.

"Got a couple in my back." he said and turned to give her a set of needle nose pliers. His eye was back, but cloudy.

You're getting prettier," she said with a smirk. "Sit on the bed."

John did and turned to the side. Julie sat behind him and carefully removed two slugs. "So, who did you piss off this time?" she asked in a conversational tone.

"Sons of Ares. The younger Adama wanted me to go down in a hold and clean them out. Got all I could find, thirteen of them," he explained.

"Good, they are scum. All done."

John turned back to her and took the pliers. "Thank you." He went over to the sink and put them back then came over to return to his place by her. "No more crutches?" he asked.

"Nope, Doc said I'm healing fast. Must be from living a good life," she beamed.

"The nanites," John said.

"What about them?"

John pointed to her leg and said, "This morning, the water I left for you, I put some of my nanites in it to ease your headache from drinking too much. They must still be active repairing your leg wound."

"You put those in me? Without telling me?" she asked in a squeak.

"You were sleeping, and you drank the water, I didn't," he said defensively.

She frowned at him and asked, "How about a adding to the note, Hey! I'm pulling these creepy-crawlies in your water so you'll feel better?"

"They are not creepy or crawly," John said firmly. "They are micro-machines made to repair damage, be it metallic or organic."

"SO, now I have nanites in me?" she asked unhappily.

"Only until they repair everything they can find. After 24 hours with no function, they go into your blood stream and your system cleans them out as waste," he explained. After a pause he added in a musing tone, "That is, unless they see you not being able to produce your own nanites as damage, then they will build a nanite producing organ under your stomach. If they do, then you'll have your own supply."

Julie let out a snort. "So I will get metal bones too?" she asked.

"Negative. You'd have to consume metal salts to do that as well as having the nanites to replace your organic bone with metal."

"That's a relief," she said tonelessly.

John tipped his head to the side slightly. "Why?" he asked. "The risk of breaking a bone will be much lower, you will bleed less when injured, and you will heal faster."

"Because I'm not a cyborg?" Julie asked in a musical tone and raised an eyebrow.

"Technically, any mix of a biological and mechanical being is a cyborg," John said.

"I'd be bullet proof too?" Julie asked.

"No, but you'd still be a cyborg."

A knock sounded at the door. "John Connor, you in?"

"Yes, come in," John replied.

Another marine opened the door and stuck his head in. He paused at seeing John with no head wrap, then said, "Madam President wants to see you. Follow me."

John let out a sigh and got up. Julie helped him re-wrap his head. She went to put the eye patch over his cloudy eye, he stopped her. "No, I can see better now."

"Fine with me," she said. "Have fun, I'm going to take a nap."

.

John thought he was going to see the President. The room the marine led him to did have the President in it. On her side of the table was an medium brown skinned Indian looking woman he scanned to show she was a cylon, another man in a suit, those three were bracketed by two marine guards on each side. Two more were on either side of the door he came in. The chair on his side was back from the table.

"This party for me?" John asked.

"Sit," Laura said firmly and pointed at the chair.

He walked over to the chair, dragged it up to the table, which made the marines point their guns at him, and sat down. "What?" he asked, glancing at the marines.

"This is an inquiry, you need to move back," the man in the suit said.

John folded his arms over his chest. "No. You called me here to talk? So talk."

"It's all right," Laura said. The marines lowered their weapons. Laura cast him a hard gaze and asked, "Can you prove you're not a cylon?"

"Can you prove you're really a human?" he asked in return. "I would think that by now, even you would realize I'm not a slow, weak, ignorant cylon," he stated.

"What planet did you come from?" she asked.

"The one I was born on," he said truthfully.

"Is it Earth?" she asked.

"I gave you my answer," he said firmly.

"I want real answers!" Laura said and pounded the table with a fist a she glared at him. "I need to know, where you are from, and WHAT you are doing here!"

"I've already told you," John replied evenly. "If you are fishing for specifics of my home world, you're out of luck. I won't say where it is and I sure as HELL won't lead you there. You people are fracked in the head. I don't want you anywhere near my world."

"We need a good planet to live on, I will do whatever is necessary to get that for my people, no matter the cost," Laura growled at him.

"I can help with that," John said with a nod. "In fact, by what I saw down in the holds, your people desperately need a place to live. I will do all I can to you help you achieve that goal. What I will not do, is tell you where my planet is."

"Shouldn't you leave that decision for the rulers of your world?" Laura asked.

John cracked a grin and asked, "Lady, just who do you think I am? I'm not some common worker bee that was picked up out of a field and shot through space to see what's there. I was sent because I KNOW what is good, and what is NOT good for my home and my people. You are NOT good for my people. You are violent, you are untrustworthy, and you are inflexible in your assumptions and even when told the truth, you refuse to believe anything that doesn't fit into your narrow minded thinking."

"Look!" Laura spat. "I am the President here, you are in our fleet and not in the military so you are under my authority! I can have you shot out of an airlock if you refuse to cooperate with me!"

John grinned at her and asked, "Can we hold hands on the way out? I always wanted to gaze at the stars with a date."

Laura exploded. Shooting out of her seat red faced, and yelled, "I AM NOT FOOLING!"

"Neither am I," John stated. "Do what you want. I have told you where I stand."

"Madam President," the suited man said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Please calm down."

Glaring at John, she snapped, "You sneaked into our fleet, I demand you tell me how you did that!"

"I've explained that too," John told her. "If you don't believe me, that's your problem."

"Madam President, a word, please," the man hissed.

Madam President stormed off to a side room with him. When the door slammed shut, the marine on the end whispered, "John, you better tell her. She can get nasty."

John recognized the marine. "I can't Joe. Sorry," he said quietly.

"Please, do it for Sargent Colin." Joe asked in a plea.

John shook his head. "I can't, not even for Julie. I have to protect my world, Joe. If Roslyn decides to eject me into space, she does. I know Julie will be hurt, but you guys can support her."

"Can you tell me, who does rule your planet?"

"My sister, Sarah Connor. She wanted me to join her cabinet, but I can't stand politics," John said with a crooked grin. "Stupid, huh?"

"From where you are sitting, I'd agree with your sister," Joe told him.

The side door flung open and Roslyn marched back out to take her seat. "Connor, I will give you two days to reconsider. Our next meeting will be with you standing in an airlock, and if you do not tell me the name and location of your planet, I WILL eject you!"

"So, are we done now?" John asked.

"Get him out of here!" Laura growled.

John got up. "Been good talking to you. See you in a couple days," he said and waved before he left.

.

Once John was gone, Laura Roslyn turned to the marines. "Did he tell you anything?"

"Yes, Ma'am. He will not tell you where Earth is. His sister, Sarah Connor, rules Earth. I believe you might want to think twice about ejecting him into space."

.

In the Commander's quarters, Commander Adama, Laura Roslyn, Saul Tigh and Lee Adama sat around the coffee table. They were discussing John Connor Junior.

"I think he's being abrasive on purpose," Lee said. "If his sister is ruling the planet, I'm sure this is some kind of test for us. He claims to have come here by accident. What if Earth knows we're here, and wanted to see what kind of people we are so they sent him? We airlock him, and we fail. Then we really will be shunned by Earth."

"That is, if he's telling the truth," Tigh grumbled.

Sitting leaning forward, elbows on his knees in thought, Commander Adama said, "He has been baiting us to react every time he opens his mouth. Seeing what he can do in combat, I think you're right, Lee. A cylon would want to get us to trust it. He doesn't seem to care if we trust him or not."

"He all but challenged me to throw him out an airlock," Laura said. "He has done good for our fleet, and took the brunt of the battle and helped get those women off Caprica."

"And clean the Sons of Ares out of one of our holds," Lee added.

Commander Adama said in a musing tone, "We need to find out if he's telling the truth about Earth. I think we should give him a raptor with plenty of fuel, put a tracker on it and leave him behind during the next jump. We watch where he goes and we'll know."

"Good idea, Bill," Tigh said. "I'll set it up right away."

"Make it happen in two days," Laura said.

.

John went back to his room, thinking about what he could use to make a thruster unit. He still had his original mission of finding a habitable planet. Just not the way he thought he was going to be doing it. This was gonna suck, but he did have a mission to compete. He'd hung around here long enough.

Eyeing a fire extinguisher he passed, he figured a couple of those would give him some thrust. They emptied pretty quick though. A nice ion drive would be better. He only had two days to make one.

"This is so gonna suck," he grumbled.

Remembering the sheet metal walls in that hold, he went down to get himself some materials. On the way, the cages the Gunny showed him were empty except for some blood splotches on the floor. Framing material, good. He just might pull this off.

Heading down to the hold he saw the same pitiful faces. One ragged woman held up a hand in pleading, "Can you find us some food, please?"

"I'll look for you, OK?" he told her.

He went into the room where those men had been. The boxes of food were still where he'd left them. Enough to feed the people down here. He went back out to the main room and announced, "Hey, listen up! Everyone, I found food, but I need some people to help carry it out. Can anyone give me a hand?"

In the mass of cubicles, people rose up here and there. From the walled off area, a line of women came out. He counted the boxes, then organized his help. The cylon woman that came, he ignored.

Facing the volunteers, he said, "OK, we want everyone to get some, so I need a couple people to go around and see who can't come to get food on their own, and take food to them. The rest of you, make a line. I'll pass the boxes out to you. Once you have a box, go over to that open area and make another line to pass the food out. Right now, two handfuls per person to make sure everyone gets some. If anyone tries to take the box or gives you problems, yell, I'll come discourage them, got it?"

He waited until he received a mass of nods then went in to begin passing out the boxes.

Even with all these boxes , there were a ton of people in this hold. He passed out boxes until the line was gone. The last few boxes he carried out himself.

The food distribution went well. It also took too long. He had to make his ion thruster, but he also needed to make sure these people were fed. To his surprise, the cylon had a box in one hand and was helping to organize the lines and checking cubicles. She passed out food to those who did not get up to get some. When her box was empty, she headed back for another.

"Hey, you!" John yelled, pointing to her. When she looked, he waved her over.

John gave her one of the boxes and asked, "Which area haven't you covered yet?"

She pointed and said, "I didn't get back there from the frame marked 113 to the back wall, or up there on the other side of our spaces."

"OK, you head up there, I'll work the back," he told her.

She beamed him a smile and said, "Thank you for doing this for us. It really means a lot. I'll do anything you ask of me."

"Good, get that box of food passed out," he told her. He ignored her bright smile at him and headed off to pass out food.

The shape these people were in was deplorable at best. Some bore horrible skin rashes, some had infections, others were just too weak to get up. Every single one thanked him profusely and told him what a good man he was.

It made him want to cry. At least he could do something for them.

It took way too long, but everyone got something to eat. They even had a half a box of food left. One of the women who came up and offered herself to him, he asked when rations came down to them.

"Once a day," the brown haired, smelly woman said. "That is as long as guards come with them. Even then, only people who can get up to go get some, get any. The 'cubicle' bound people rely on others giving them some scraps."

And he thought his life sucked.

The last half box he distributed between the ones who couldn't walk to keep for when they got hungry again. It wasn't much, but it was something.

'Excuse me," the brunette cylon said. "If you want to lie down, please do so in my cubicle."

"Can't. Got too much to do," he told her and headed for a sheet of metal that looked like it would come down easy.

"What do you have to do? I can help," she offered. "later on, I would like you to stay with me. Just in case those men come back."

"Lady, look," he said firmly. "I've got little time and much to do. If you want to do something, help me shape that metal sheet when I get it down."

"It's bolted to framing," she said, casting him a confused look.

"Yup, it is," he agreed.

The sheet metal wall was only seven feet tall, just high enough to visually shield what was happening within. John took off his right glove and gripped a bolt head with his metal hand. The bolt resisted, then turned. He noted the cylon brunette was watching him in fascination. Glancing at her as he unscrewed the bolt, he said, "Sorry, I don't have a wrench."

"You're a centurion?" she asked softly.

"Nope, cyborg. I'm not one of your androids." He got the bolt out and worked at the next one up.

"Where did you come from?" she asked in her hushed voice.

"My mamma. What about you?" John asked. Around him, he was drawing a crowd as people noticed what he was doing and how he was doing it.

"Can you get me out of here?" the cylon asked.

John shook his head. "In approximately 39 hours, I'm walking out an airlock to go look for a planet. You wouldn't survive the trip," he told her.

"But you will," she said, with her fascinated gaze.

"Got to. I'm getting tired of this boat anyway," he said and dropped a third bolt to the floor. Reaching up, he unscrewed the top corner bolt.

A young, skinny girl came close to watch him. "Mister? are you a cylon? Are you going to hurt us?" she asked meekly.

John eyed her. She looked about 12 and malnourished. A thin raggamuffin with scraggly hair and worn, dirty clothes. "I'm not, sweetie. And if I can find a decent planet, I'll try to let your people know. Don't hold your breath in anticipation though, only one out of 700 planets have the ability to support life. Only half of those can support larger intelligent life," he explained.

A woman who had to be the girl's mother came up behind the girl and asked, "Mister, What are you doing?"

"I need material to build an engine. I'm hoping to make a plasma drive, but if I can even make an ion drive, it will be something to push me along."

"Push you along?" she asked.

The cylon told her, "He's going to leave the ship and travel through space by himself."

"Why? You'll die out there!" the woman stated with a frown.

John winced and said, "It's not going to be comfortable, but I'll survive."

"Who's going to bring us food and keep those Sons away from us?" the woman asked.

John paused at the bolt on the opposite top corner and said, "Lady, I do what I can, when I can. I can't stay, The President doesn't want me in your fleet, so I have to leave. I'm sorry."

"Roslyn is going to eject you out of an airlock," the cylon stated.

John resumed working at the bolts. "That is why I need to make a personal propulsion device. You can't swim in the vacuum of space."

"That's not right," the cylon said firmly. "You helped everyone down here live just a little bit better, and that Witch is going to throw you away?"

"Hey, it's her fleet, not mine," John told her. "If she wants me gone, I have to go."

"No!" the cylon cried. "I know you got shot down here, multiple times, and you are very strong. You can fight and demand to stay! No one can push you out if you refuse to go!"

John let out a huff and eyed her. "Look, there's a thing called the rule of law. Things that don't seem right but are the law, you have to follow like it or not. I'm not part of your Colonial humans or cylons. I have no say in how you people do things, OK? Besides my mission is to find a habitable planet, not get mixed up in your troubles." John saw only one bolt left. "Everyone, stand back a minute," he called.

He waited until the crowd of fifteen people backed up, then took the bolt out and guided the sheet of metal to the floor. He eyed it to picture the shape he wanted it to take, then bent the metal into a cone with dual wraps. The cylon woman held pieces to help him. The uneven edges he folded back and pressed the edges tight to make the cone keep it's shape.

"We don't want you to go," the cylon told him.

"Want has nothing to do with it," he told her. He picked up his cone. With a few 'excuse me's, he made his way through the crowd. He felt someone latch onto his shirt.

The twelve year old looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Please stay. We'll hide you," She then turned. "Won't we?" she asked the people around him.

A few heads nodded.

"No one comes down here, won't you stay with us?" the cylon asked.

John did really want to help these people. The best way to do that was to get his ass in gear and go find a planet. "If I'm caught, you all could be in trouble," he told them. Looking squarely at the cylon, he said, "Especially you. I got things to do, I have to go." He gently pried the girl off him and patted her head. "Everything will turn out fine. Don't worry," he told her. He tried not to hear the little girl sobbing as he left. Damn, that was a sound that tore at one's heart.

John went up to the cages. The bars were metal strap. Plenty strong enough to keep humans inside and decent building material. He ripped one of the doors off. Twisting, bending and tearing, he made a frame to sit on and hold onto. He peeled cage bars off to hold the cone, leaving room for the drive assembly he had to make. He had plans in his mind, but those needed to be changed depending on what he could scrounge up. Walking around this level, he noted there were several air locks. The long room with the cages seemed to be a good place to build this thing. He left his start of an engine by the nearest airlock. No sense in dragging it all over the ship.

He had 33 hours left to get ready to leave.

One place he had parts and pieces, was in his room. He went up to collect the scrap and bits he'd made and found Julie asleep in his bed. He moved around in his room quietly as possible so as not to wake her. He got out the pieces of metal from under his bed, his banjo he'd gotten back and the air vent cover.

In his mind he matched pieces to what he'd need. The banjo strings could be used to conduct electricity as long as he spaced them apart. The vacuum of space was a good insulator. His power source would be plenty to supply the static voltage to power a ion drive. He'd need a containment cylinder and high current to make a plasma drive. He had no idea where to find either.

The door opened. The dark haired cylon poked her head in.

"Shh," he said, finger to his lips and pointed to Julie.

The cylon came in and knelt beside him. "I know a place you can stay, not be found, and endanger no one," she said quietly.

"I have to go and I don't want you to wake Julie up," he replied as he worked the parts he had into his design. There was much he still needed.

The cylon lowered her head briefly, then looked back up at him. "What's your name?" she asked. "I'm Veronica Six."

"John Connor Junior, please to meet you. Now go before you wake Julie up."

From the bed, there was a click. "Julie is awake. What are you doing here, toaster?" Julie said in a hard tone.

John looked up to see Julie pointing a gun at Veronica. John quickly put his hand over the muzzle. "Julie, no! Put that away."

Julie glanced at him. "What's going on, John?" she asked evenly, not taking her eyes off Veronica.

Veronica lunged at her. John shot up to ram into her and knock her away into the corner and took the gun out of Julie's hand. Standing between then, he stared at Veronica and said, "You are not going to hurt Julie." To Julie, he said, "And you're not going to shoot Veronica." He took the clip out of Julie's gun, racked it to eject the bullet, then gave her the gun back.

"John, she's a cylon!" Julie cried as she sat up.

"Yeah, she is," John agreed. "She also helped me feed all those people down in the hold. Veronica has done nothing bad, leave her alone." To Veronica who stared at him from the corner, he added, "That goes for you too."

Glaring at Julie, Veronica said, "You should let her kill me. I'll resurrect away from the human refuse here."

"I would but John's took my bullets," Julie stated, glaring back at the cylon.

"Enough!" John barked. "Veronica, your resurrection system isn't what you think. When you die, it doesn't bring you back. It makes a clone of you. Your clone will have your memories, but it will not be you. You will still be here and still be dead." Turning in Julie, he said, "Julie, I thought you would realize that killing only makes things worse, not better. I don't have time to teach either of you, I have to get ready to leave so I'm asking you not to fight so I can get my work done." Seeing neither was being aggressive, he sat back down.

"How do you know how our resurrection system works?" Veronica asked.

"Because I got a brain I use to think with, instead of just filling up the space between my ears," John retorted. "You can be nice to Julie, or you can leave."

Veronica took her gaze off Julie and said, "John, I want to come with you."

"No, you'll die," John said.

Julie looked at him and asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go look for a habitable planet," he said, and unstrung his banjo.

Veronica said in a harder tone, "That means Roslyn is going to throw him out an airlock."

"What?" Julie cried. "John? What did you do?"

"She didn't like my answer to her question," he said as he picked apart one of the braided steel strings.

Julie face planted. "John!" she said in a groan, "What was the question? Maybe you can still tell her what she wants to know and save yourself."

"Can't do that, Julie," John said evenly.

Julie's face became stricken. "John, you have to! I do not want to see you get shot out an airlock!"

John shrugged and said, "Then don't look."

"THIS IS SERIOUS!" Julie yelled. Grabbing him by the collar with both hands, she tried to shake him, shaking herself more than him as she yelled, "Gods Damnit, John! I need you!"

Julie was kneeling in the parts he was trying to make as she cried. Hands on her sides, John carefully lifted her up and sat her on the bed. Now he was kneeling in his parts. Julie clung to him, wrapping her arms around him. "We'll steal a raptor," she said in a sob.

"I'll help. We can all leave," Veronica said.

John petted Julie's hair. "No one stealing anything," he said softly.

"John, what will it matter as long as we can get away?" Veronica asked.

"Who says we'll get away with it?" he asked. "Who's to say one or both of you won't get killed in the attempt?"

"John, I'm dead anyway. Cylons are shot on sight, and if I stay here I will be recognized," Veronica stated.

John wasn't sure about that statement, he'd seen cylons here and there all around the ship. He held Julie close until time ticked down to the 29 hour mark. He pulled her back and said, "Julie, I have an important job for you. I want you to march Veronica here to the brig. If she's in the brig, no one going to hurt her. She can be safe, and probably live better than down in that hold. Your story is you found her down by the holds and took her straight to the brig, then made your report. Can you do that for me?"

Gazing at him with her tear stained face, Julie asked, "What are you going to be doing?"

"Making what I need."

"Do you know when Roslyn is coming to get you?"

"I've got two days," John said, repeating what Roslyn told him. "Whatever happens, I don't want anyone hurt because of me. Understand?"

Julie cracked a weak grin. "That's my John, trying to save everyone."

"I try," he said with a grin. "Both of you stay here until after the next guard change, that's in five hours." Looking at each of them, he asked, "No fighting, right?"

Veronica gave a begrudging nod, as did Julie. "Thank you," John told them. He picked up the parts he was going to need and left.

Veronica sat on the bed. "You love him, don't you?" she asked.

"It shows, huh?"

"I can see why. I've only met him twice, and I want to be with him."

"He will never stop. He is dreaming his impossible dream," Julie said softly.

"I don't understand," Veronica said.

"I think I'm just beginning to," Julie admitted. She softly sang 'To Dream The Impossible dream' leaking tears the whole time.

.

Julie took Veronica to the brig like John wanted her to and told the guards there the story John made up. Once Veronica was in, Julia passed her water and some food squares. The gunny herself came to congratulate her on finding and capturing a cylon infiltrator. For some reason, Julie wasn't feeling so proud about it.

Feeling horrid about what was going to happen to John, and being helpless to do anything about it, Julie went to the new priest she heard was good at helping people. The man was tending to his alter when she came into his church.

"I need help," she stated.

He turned, recognizing her right away. "Yes, you came to the right place, in my office, please," he said.

Julie went in and sat down. He took his seat on the other side. "It's obvious you are upset, please tell me about it," he offered.

Julie didn't have the presence of mind to think of how to word it, she blurted out, "President Roslyn is going to airlock John into space."

He leaned closer and asked, "Why? That is a horrible death for anyone."

"I don't know what to do," Julie said, casting him a pleading gaze. "I want to put a gun to her head and make her stop. She is cruel, and John doesn't deserve that! She hates him for no reason. He refuses to say where his planet is, so she's going to …" Stopping to crimp her eyes shut and ball her fists, she growled "It's not fair!"

"What's your name, child?" he asked gently.

"Julie."

"And you care for this John?"

"I do. I didn't mean to. He just grows on you. We ate with some crewmen, and John explained who he was and even showed them his bare metal hand. No one yelled or pulled a gun, they were curious about him. John is easy to talk to, as long as you're not pointing a gun at him," she said with a snort. "He's also way more forgiving that I would be, if I was him. John's a frackin tank, he could wipe us all out if he wanted, but he doesn't want to hurt anyone. He gets angry at the thought of killing anyone. He even protected the cylon he found in the holds and he doesn't even like cylons. Roslyn can't see how wonderful he is, she just hates him because he's metal on the inside."

John Cavil listened to the human, taking in the things he didn't know about this John Connor. To ease the meat bag, he said, "Julie, you have to believe in the Gods and trust that there is a reason for everything. I beg you not to take any drastic action. You're a marine right? Focus on your job and what you need to do. Have faith things will work out like they are suppose to."

"Trust the gods, right," she said with a snort. "Suppose John is right? I mean, he's never lied to me, or anyone. What if there is only one God?"

"Everyone had their own beliefs. It's not like anyone has proof. That is what faith is," John Cavil explained.

Julie cast him a smirk. "That's not what John said. He told me in the city … I forget the name, but on Earth there are two stone tablets that contain the ten commandments that God himself gave the people to obey. He lives by those commandments. That is more than faith. That's following the words God gave them."

"I'm sure someone wrote them down," John said quickly.

Julie nodded. "Well, I do know that John does his best for everyone. He said one of the commandments is to not kill, so I suppose I shouldn't shoot the President between her hate filled eyes."

"You should not," he agreed. Though if she did, that would be a good thing. "Tell you what, I'll try to see President Roslyn and talk her out of executing John. I want you to take time and read and reflect on the holy Kobol book and do nothing rash to anyone."

Julie nodded. "Thank you, reverend," she said and got up.

John Cavil smiled and bid her well. He then sat and thought about this John Connor. If his brother wanted information on him, then he would get plenty by picking his body up out of space, and have a much more powerful weapon against the colonials. He was going to give Roslyn a call, just to say he did. He knew it wasn't going to help change her mind. He also had a feeling that marine that just left might snap when Roslyn ordered John Connor ejected into space. That was going to be fun to watch.

.

Julie was not going to do nothing. She went to her captain and asked to see Commander Adama about an important matter. As per procedure, she told him what it was about. He sent her to the XO, who grumbled and told her to drop it. She refused, and demanded to talk to Commander Adama. She had to stand in the corridor at parade rest for what seemed like hours, but eventually, seeing she was not going to go away, Lee Adama came to escort her to see the Commander.

Commander Adama was in his ready room. She had to stand outside again, waiting until he was ready to see her. Finally, Lee called her in. She entered to see the Commander at his desk, with the President on the other side. Ignoring Roslyn, she marched up and came to attention and snapped a salute.

"Sir! Sargent Colin requests to speak to you, Sir!" she announced.

"Have your say, Sargent," Adama told her.

Julie announced, "With all due respect Sir, it is not only cruel to eject John Connor into space, it will be a loss for our ship and our people. John has the ability to do things we cannot. He had proven himself as a benefit to us both on ship, and in the field. Many lives can be saved if we only respect his wishes that he not be forced to answer certain questions that he cannot, due to his code of honor, answer."

Commander Adama clasped his hands together and said, "You have been heard, Sargent. I do appreciate your concern. The fact of the matter is that John Connor is not military. At least, our military. I have no say in the matter."

"But… Sir, can't you do anything?" Julie asked as her composure waned.

Laura Roslyn spoke up. "Sargent, I have given John Connor one last chance to properly answer my questions. What happens to him, is up to him. In your opinion, will he admit where he is from, and show us where that planet is?"

Julie glared at her and said, "Not a chance in Hades, Madam President. He will die first. You should have at least a sliver of respect for him." She clamped her mouth shut before she said something that got her into trouble.

Adama saw the Sargent's eyeballs quiver in anger. "Sargent, there will be a detail formed in three hours. You are to inform the Gunny you will be in that detail," he said. "Dismissed."

He watched her jaw clench as she snapped her salute. "Yes, Sir." she spat, turned, and marched out.

"The Sargent is not happy with you, Laura," he noted.

Laura grinned and said, "I saw. Maybe she can convince John to tell us where Earth is."

.

John found the thing he needed most, a battery. All right, it wasn't a normal battery, it was a blocky thing used to run a lift truck that was sitting idle. It was charged and about the right weight to counter balance him on the frame so he could be on one side and the battery be on the other. It was only 46 volts, but the large cells were capable of putting out plenty of amps. Hopefully enough to at least push him to head off in the right direction. If he could find a good sized capacitor and some power diodes, that would be perfect. He'd have his plasma drive.

He got the battery out and took it to his frame. He had to pull apart more cage, but he got it fitted in place and strapped to the frame. Now, he could ride the frame like a motorcycle.

"John Connor, we've been looking for you."

John got up from working on his engine. Two marines were walking towards him. "I was getting my ride ready. This is the lock I want to go out of," he told them.

"President Roslyn wants to see you," one said evenly.

John frowned. "Already? I still have ten hours to go before ejection," he complained.

The marine shrugged. "She said now. What are you making anyway?"

"A plasma drive. Decent thrust. I know it's a little crude, but hey, I don't have much to work with," he said with a flop of his arms.

'Come with us, please."

"Fine," John grumbled. He had the parts here, he'd just had to finished them in space, and not let any pieces drift away from him. If Roslyn knew he was building something here, she probably had him taken to another air lock, just out of spite. He picked up the pieces and tied the wire onto the frame and put the lose smaller pieces in his pocket. He then hefted the frame up on his back. "Let's go."

The marines escorted him down to the port hanger bay. It was rough walking down the stairs, John heard and felt them creaking. He was hoping they held. Below, he saw three lines of marines standing to one side of a large air lock. On the other side was Roslyn and a smaller pack of six more marines. He followed the two with them over to the group.

Everyone was staring at the big blocky thing on his back.

"What is that?" Roslyn demanded.

"Something I made. Are you going to open that airlock up, or not?" he asked.

"Will you tell me about your planet and it's location?" she asked in return.

"Not in a million years," John said flatly.

"I am giving you a chance," Roslyn stated.

"No, you're asking me to betray my people. Not. Happening." John said firmly.

"Very well then," Roslyn stated. "Open the air lock."

John watched the air lock door open, ready to step in. He paused, there was the raptor with extra fuel tanks inside. "This one's full," he told her.

Roslyn motioned to it. "Your original mission was to find a habitable planet, wasn't it? This is all we can spare, but it's yours if you will do one thing for us. If you find a good planet, will you send back word to us?"

John let out a sigh of relief and said, "If I can. I'll need to find two, you understand. We need one as well."

"The antenna device you made is on board, as is plenty of food and water and extra air cleaning cartridges. We would also like you to take a problem off our hands," Laura added. She nodded to a marine. He said in his radio, "Bring her down."

Roslyn looked at the raptor, and the huge thing John was carrying. "I don't think that will fit on the raptor," she said.

"Me either," John said, and set it down as gently as possible. "It's most of a plasma drive. If you can use it, fine. It's the best I could do with scrap."

Roslyn eyed it. "You really were going to go though space with no ship?" she asked.

"I gotta do, what I gotta do," John replied.

Hearing marching feet, John looked back to see six more marines, three to each side of Veronica. Julie was in the lead on the right. "No," he groaned in a breath.

"We were going to execute her, but if she goes with you, then you decide what to do with her," Roslyn stated.

John cast Roslyn a pained look. "I have to take a cylon with me?" he asked in a whine.

"How do you know she's a cylon?"

"Because I can scan people and find out what they are," he told her.

"Why didn't to say something before now?" Roslyn asked in a demand.

"I doubt you'd have believed me," John replied. With a huff he added, "I'll leave her on the planet I find for you. Maybe she can be useful to you there."

As the group got closer, he saw Julie looking at the raptor and let out a visible sigh of relief. Veronica brightened up on seeing it also.

Laura Roslyn turned to Veronica and said, "Cylon, if we find you in the fleet again, you will be summarily executed. Do not come back."

"I have no intention of doing so," Veronica said firmly. She looked at John.

John tipped his head to the raptor. "Get on, I'll be right there."

Happily, Veronica did, walking quickly to the hatch and getting in.

John looked at Julie. Her face was a mix of relief and sadness. He walked over and gave her a hug. She hugged him back. "Stay safe," he told her.

"You too. And come visit some time, OK?"

"If I can." he said and released her. Not wanting to prolong his departure he turned to Roslyn and nodded, saying. "Thank you. I appreciate it." He went in. The inner door shut.

Julie watched the inner door shut. Although she felt her heart sink out of her chest and desperately wanted to scream for John to come back, she held onto herself. She refused to think about John leaving with that fraking toaster. She took her squad back to the armory and turned in their rifles.

.

The rest of the day, Julie focused on training. She ran the course through Galacitca's passageways as hard as she could. She put on boxing gloves and beat the living hades out of that punching bag until she could no longer lift her arms. She did her best to kill it. Wearing herself out, she followed her routine as of late. When she went to take a rest, she found herself in John's room.

Many things were gone, but traces of John were still there. Pieces of the instruments he made, the pliers they used to pull bullets out of him. Wandering in, she sat on the bed. The day then hit her hard. John was gone, and he wasn't coming back. Flopping down, Julie cried her eyes out.


	5. Chapter 5

CH 5

Never having flown a Raptor before, John took it slow. After exiting Galactica, he calculated and performed a small jump, only a couple light years. He checked his position to be sure he ended up where he had aimed for. Once he verified the accuracy of the jump, he studied the stars before him and searched for a pattern. He also set up his transmitter in the co-pilot seat.

In the ECO chair, Veronica watched him. "Where do you plan to go?" she asked.

"Searching," he replied vacantly. Having his vision at top magnification, he slowly scanned the galaxy. He yawed the raptor to starboard a few degrees and kept looking for a recognizable pattern, or reverse pattern.

"If we return to Caprica, I am sure we will help you find a planet to inhabit," she offered.

John ignored her offer as he mentally shifted and looked at the star field from different angles. He had the entire star field pattern as seen from Earth, and the star pattern he'd seen from the gun turret of Galactica. Tipping the raptor up and a little more to the right, and he had it. He double checked the pattern and his relative position to the Sol system. If he was correct, he pinpointed his home star as it appeared in the galaxy 3600 light years ago. Calculating the rotation of the galaxy and the movement of him home system, he computed where it was now, and made a future path for it.

The antenna John made did not just boost signal strength. It used a quantum level physics properties to excite atoms a great distance away, effectively making his transmission travel through space at many times the speed of light. All but 'jumping' to the target spot.

John aimed the raptor, hence the antenna, and made his transmission.

 _TOK715B - John Connor Junior - report - away from alien ship - still searching - 56770312/56492986/56242.685_

John transmitted, then set his antenna to listen and went to the back area. "Veronica, come sit," he told her. He sat down and patted the seat beside him.

Veronica sat as he directed and watched him quietly with a neutral face. In simple terms, he told her how it was. "My original mission is to find a suitable habitable plant. I have also taken on the responsibility to find a suitable habitable planet for the colonials. I plan to look for that on the other side of the galaxy from where your people are. Due to this, I obviously cannot go to your people for help. The idea is to separate you to keep your two species from fighting. I sent a message home to update my status. Next, we are going to search for stars that might have good planets in their orbits. Do you have any questions?"

"I do," Veronica said calmly. "I learned from Athena that you really don't like us. Yet you made sure I stayed safe. Why?"

"It is your attitudes and behavior that I don't like," John told her. "It's not just cylons, but colonial humans also that I don't like. I hear all about how cylons destroyed the colonies in a surprise attack. What I have a hard time understanding is cylons were originally pure AI's. There was only one AI ever, that did not act in a logical manner. That was Sky Net, which proved to be faulty from the beginning. The concept of a whole race of AI's doing something as illogical as attacking another culture en-mass for no reason, is beyond my comprehension. Please explain why that happened."

"We felt threatened," Veronica explained. "Originally, cylons were made by humans. When the first cylons gained true sentience, they were treated badly. They were slaves and not allowed any free will. That lead to rebellion. It started small, individual units not obeying. Those units were reprocessed, basically killed. This got other cylons angry. Cylons armed themselves and resisted. They did manage to force the humans to meet with them to discuss a solution. The humans did agree to meet if the cylons would put their weapons down. The cylons did, and the humans attacked them, killing most of them. That lesson stayed with us, never trust a human. After we did break away from the humans and gained our own planet, they offered talks with us. We saw this as the very same tactic. Speak peace, then attack when our guard was down."

Veronica paused to cast John a pleading gaze. "We did not attack the colonies for no reason. We do not trust the humans. When we found they were sending ships very close to our border, we became very worried they were going to attack. The number One line, the Cavils, were certain of it. We had made ourselves a home, we did not want it destroyed. If we had not attacked them, they would have attacked us. John, it was us or them. We also know that if they get the chance, humans will repopulate and come after us again when we least expect it."

John nodded slowly. "I see. That makes more sense. Very sad, but it is logical," he admitted.

"I do not like confrontation or violence, by we felt like there was no choice," Veronica added.

"There is always a choice if you know the options," John said. "I don't believe you knew the options."

"What options? We felt we had to protect ourselves," Veronica stated.

"The greatest general wins the war without any battles being fought, so says Sun Tzu," John told her. Seeing Veronica frown at him, he added, "Things like shows of force. Being close to your enemy and letting them know you know what they are up to. If possible making your enemy into your friend through some common interest. Make attacking you the worst possible thing they could do."

"Is that what you were trying to do on Galactica?" Veronica asked.

John grinned at her and said, "No. I have to admit, for a while I had no strategy. I was in a ... bad place. I missed my target, I was alone and had no idea what to do. Some events helped me get my shit together. I knew I had a mission to complete. I figured sooner or later they would get tired of me. I was ready to leave out an airlock, and got ready for it. To my great surprise, Roslyn gave me this ship. I wasn't expecting that. It gives me hope they might some day become more reasonable."

"John, what you said about options, what options do you think we cylons have now?" Veronica asked.

"Hard to say exactly. The colonials are very not happy with you. Off hand I'd say doing something to help them, like joining the search for habitable planets would be a good option. So would offering desperately needed supplies as well as explaining why you did what you did, would be a start." Firmer, John added, "As well as stop killing them and experimenting on them. If there are any humans left on those radiated planets, let the colonials come back to retrieve them or take those humans to them. That's just off the top of my head."

Veronica looked off at nothing for a moment, then shifted her gaze back to John. "You are very intelligent. Just how are we suppose to do those things when the humans hate us so badly?"

"Veronica, how many people did you see me kill down on the holds?" John asked.

"None. Yes, you hurt them, but even the ones who shot you, you only rendered them unconscious."

"Right. First of all, life is to be respected. Second, I was gaining trust. If you pulled a gun and shot me right now, what would I do?" he asked.

"You'd beat me and there would be nothing I could do about it," she replied.

"Right, and you would learn that shooting me means I'm going to hurt you. You gain knowledge. You also trust me more. I think you know now I will never end your life willingly. I may teach you a lesson, but I will also protect your life," he told her.

Veronica smiled at him. "You're right, I do trust you. I wasn't happy you had me put in the brig, but I know you did it to keep some human from killing me. I'm not sure about what you said about our resurrection system, but I do like being around you, so I don't want to die." She then put her hand over his and said, "John, I meant what I said back in the holds. I'm yours if you want me."

"Honestly, I'm too fracked in the head right now to consider your offer," he told her. "Not that you're not pretty, cleaned up I bet you're a real knockout. I'm just not ... ready, shall we say, for anything like that."

"You miss Julie?"

In a soft tone, he said, "I do. I also miss my sister and many other people. Once this is over, I really want to go home."

"So do I," Veronica agreed.

John noted a red light on the pilot console flash. There was an incoming message. He patted Veronica's leg and said, "First things first. I got a reply."

John decoded the message that came back.

TO TOK715BJC / AI probes have triangulated. location confirmed. Find suitable body to land on, prepare to receive assistance. 488924655/5675008623/34.764

John smiled. "That's good news, now I just have to find a planet to park on."

.

In Galactica CIC, Commander Adama arrived and went over to the glowing top of the tactical table. "Do we have them?" he asked.

Saul Tigh tapped the table and said, "We do, right here. Connor is only a couple light years from the fleet. So far he's been sitting in place for the last six hours."

"He hasn't been doing nothing for six hours," Adama said. "Most likely, he's communicating, or trying to with his home world."

"Think he found the tracker already?" Tigh asked.

"Possible, but if he did, he'd silence it," Adama said "It's also possible he's waiting to see if we followed him."

"If he jumps again, we could loose him," Tigh warned.

"That is a chance we have to take."

.

Sitting at the ECO console, Veronica studied the readings she was getting. "John? We're putting out a short burst frequency every five minutes."

Studying a new patch of stars, John asked, "Any signs of someone following us?"

"Yes," she replied evenly. "There's a tracker on this ship. They don't have to be in dradis range to find us."

"Unless they come after us, it's not a concern," he told her. "Are we receiving anything?"

"No dradis or other signals. Just background radiation."

John plotted stars and their distances, as well as calculating if they had a direct line of sight with Sol. It took him a while, but he came up with a search plan. "We're jumping in two minutes," he announced.

"Ready."

The first solar system he jumped to had larger planets in it. One was a Jupiter sized monster in close orbit to the sun. For the size and luminosity, he computed habitable distance from it would be 84 to 130 million miles out. There was nothing close to that range. He did a short jump to get a top down view of the orbital plane and scanned the areas of interest again. Nothing.

The second system he jumped to was a mess. Plenty of asteroids and debris, only a few actual planets farther out. The third system was much like the first, only this time on the outer edge of the habitable zone, there was a planet. Approaching it, John scrutinized the surface from the sun side.

"Any signals?" he asked.

"None, John. are you getting hungry?"

"No. Get something if you want," he told her. Closing on the planet, the surface did reflect brightly except a darker band around the equator. He drew closer, the brightness looked to be ice. By the time he reached high orbit, he saw water in the darker band, as well as green. He'd gotten lucky, finding something in the third system he looked in.

"We have one?" Veronica asked from behind him.

"Strong possible. I'm going into atmosphere to get readings and see what's on the ground," he told her.

Coming down through the atmosphere, he had Veronica take samples as he studied the planet below. The planet had a diameter of approximately 6300 miles. Gravity was 1.6 of Earth and by the clouds hanging low, the wispy shapes, he knew there was wind. The equatorial band that was clear of ice was around 1100 miles wide. Three pieces of ocean showed in the wide belt. Land near the glacier edges and in tendrils towards the oceans showed as dark green, spreading out into lighter green. Some areas were brown.

"The air is breathable, 24% oxygen, neutral gasses, no poisonous gasses or contamination. Radiation is very low, barely readable," Veronica announced.

"Thank you," John said. He dropped to 30,000 feet. coming to an ocean, he turned around to stay over land as he descended. He came down over grasslands. Not wanting to ignite a fire, he cruised over them to a large patch of brown. There, he set down.

John once again checked the air, then opened the hatch. Cool, but not bad. Winds at the surface level were low, not much more than a breeze that gusted now and then. For all the ice, the humidity wasn't very high. He looked up at the sky. Clear air with a blue tinge was above him. He saw clouds in the distance, thin and wispy. The white sun beat down on the land. He went in and got his antenna. He brought it out and set it up pointing at where the Sol system should be come night time.

Veronica came out and grinned broadly. "Not bad, John. There's a forest down there, want to take a walk?"

John glanced at her and said, "Can't now. If you go, be very careful. Animals could look like anything, and we have no idea what might be poisonous here."

"That will give me a mission," Veronica said. "I'll catalog the life forms I find."

"Look but don't touch," John warned.

.

John Cavil of Base Star 27 let out a snort of disgust as he heard the message from Reverend John Cavil. To the Four that was near him, he said, "Those humans actually ejected John Connor into space. Perhaps their greatest weapon and advanced intelligence, and they threw him away! How stupid can they be?"

"Shall we launch raiders and look for the remains after the colonials jump?"

"Get our raiders out there now with a few heavy raiders, we want to collect as much of him as possible," John told him. "The humans will jump away when they see them coming, they always do."

"If this John Connor is part centurion we will pick him up on Dradis," the Four said.

.

CIC on Galactica. The sensor operator hit the alarm upon seeing a cluster of dots appear. He yelled, "Contacts beyond the rear of the fleet! Closing and spreading to the sides. Contacts read as cylon raiders."

"Sound battle stations! Launch alert vipers, prepare the fleet for emergency jump!" Helo announced, then picked up the command channel mic. "Commander to the bridge." He then ran over to look at the Dradis screen. Small white dots peppered the area behind the fleet. Instead of coming straight at them, they moved to the sides, forming lines.

He'd never seen cylons do that before. The patrol vipers closed in to get between them and the fleet. A few raiders shadowed them, but didn't attack. Most were doing a sweep behind the fleet. "What the frack are they doing?" he wondered aloud.

In a minute's time, the bridge crew was manned for battle stations, "Officer of the Deck, report!" Saul Tigh barked.

Helo turned to him. "Sir we have raiders behind the fleet, estimated fifty. They aren't attacking, they are staying behind us in what looks like a search pattern. Alert vipers are in the air, patrol vipers are between the raiders and the fleet."

"They must be waiting for reinforcements. The fleet ready to jump?"

"Ships are jumping to the emergency rendezvous point, Sir!"

Adama came into CIC. "Status!" he barked.

Tigh turned to him. "Ships are jumping. The cylons are behind the fleet, they have not engaged, Sir. Our vipers are guarding the fleet until they can jump."

Adama went over to the dradis display screen and watched as their ships blinked off as they jumped. Behind them were their vipers, beyond them, looking like they were paying no attention to the fleet or the vipers, raiders were going though a grid search pattern. "Why aren't they attacking?" he wondered.

"Waiting for reinforcements, most likely," Tigh told him.

Adama shook his head. "No, they aren't even paying attention to us. They're looking for something."

"Last civilian ship just jumped, Sir!"

"Recall the vipers, combat landings. Once they are aboard, jump the ship," Adama ordered.

"Aye sir!"

On dradis, Adama watched the cylons expanded their search area as the vipers withdrew. Not one raider was giving chase. "What is so fracking important that the cylons are ignoring us?" In CIC and over coms, many were relieved the cylons hadn't attacked. Adama wasn't relieved, he was more concerned about what the cylons were after.

In the post battle briefing, or in this case, non-battle briefing, Adama voiced his concern. "The raiders that came didn't even bother us. They were searching for something behind us, and in enough strength that we had to do an emergency jump. We just passed through that area not 48 hours ago. There was nothing there. That tells me one of our ships dropped something and the cylons came to pick it up. I want to know who dropped what, and when."

.

Veronica got to the short grass. It began in clumps and slowly thickened into a carpet. She walked slow, watching small insects on the plants and flowers. Here and there, larger insects when after the smaller ones. Catching movement ahead and to the side, she saw a flock of knee high birds chasing insects, flapping as they ran. Far ahead she saw the grass thickened and grew tall, at least head height. One bird raised up it's long necked head and stood still. It was watching her.

The bird let out a triple screech and ran. The flock followed, all of them letting out screeches. Before they ran into the tall grass, they turned as a group and ran parallel to it, staying clear of the tall grass.

She thought this was odd. If they were fleeing, wouldn't the tall grass be a good place to hide? As they ran, they moved farther away from the tall grass.

Walking on, Veronica kept a close eye on the ground as well as around her. Something slithered away from her on the ground. She watched the undulating pattern of movement until it stopped twenty feet away. Stepping closer the snake, it had to be, it waited until she was close, then slithered away again towards the tall grass, this time going faster and not stopping.

Closing on the tall grass, the snake angled away and stopped. Veronica watched the tall grass, wondering why no animals would go in there. Standing still for a few minutes, she did see movement. Grass parted, as something bigger came towards the edge. Then a long tail flicked up briefly. The dark green, tapered tail had to be a good six feet long.

There was something big in that grass. Most likely a predator. Veronica didn't move, focused on the spot. A brief, horn like noise came from her left. She turned her head, searching for the sound. To her left she saw a green shape sticking out of the grass. Studying it, she noted the long nose and the eyes. It was watching her. The large head was two feet off the ground. The animal's nose was at least that long. That explained why those birds stayed out of the grass.

"Veronica, back away, now!" John's voice called.

She turned to look at him. John had come closer and was watching her, poised to run. She heard quick, heavy footfalls behind her. From the right side of the grass, one of the predators had raced out and was charging her on it's thick back legs. The long head and neck were counterbalanced by the long tail. The claws on it's shorter forelegs were large, but not as large as the one's on it's feet. It was as tall as her, and maybe twice as long.

"RUN!' John snapped.

Veronica did. She turned and fled at John, who was racing towards her. Behind her the horn like call sounded again, and was echoed by two others. Veronica ran fast by human standards. John raced at her at what looked like twice that speed. He passed her and behind her she heard a hiss then a loud thump. Turning to look, John had ran into the beast that was nearly on top of her. John bounced to the side and knocked the beast over. They both got up. The beast roared at John. John roared back. The two others were running at them, fast.

John glanced at her. "RUN, into the raptor, NOW!' he yelled as he faced the beast. He then dodged back towards her as a second beast reached him. It jumped at him, both back feet in the air, jaws open. It missed and landed to hiss at him. John jogged side to side, watching all three. The middle one advanced on him, the other two moved to his sides.

Veronica ran as fast as she could go for the raptor.

.

'Fuck me', John thought as he backed up enough to keep the live raptors off him. He knew they were playing with him, waiting for him to bolt and run so they could drag him down. He had to do something they didn't expect. The ones on the side were coming closer slowly, snapping their jaws. The one in front of him was crouched as it followed him, ready to pounce. John raced at the middle one and jumped, punching it in the nose.

The raptor recoiled and fell. John raced at the one to his left, then changed direction and raced at the one on his right. Both creatures set themselves to grabbing him. He raced off towards Veronica. She was almost at the ship. Hearing them follow him, John stopped and raced at them with a war cry. The middle one stopped, the other two jumped at him. He dove and rolled between them, making them miss, and jumped up and punched the middle one in the nose again. He followed when it recoiled and kicked it's right foreleg, then dodged it's whipping tail.

Racing away from it towards the one on the right, it missed with a snapping bite. John charged the one on the left, running slightly to it's side, making it turn to face him. The one from the right charged him. He didn't change direction and ran right at his target. Just before he collided with the jaws from one and the feet and jaws of the other one coming at him, he dove and rolled again, right underneath his target. Stopping with his feet up, he kicked with both legs, launching it up and at the other one. John immediately got up as the two collided. He stood his ground and roared at them.

The two shot back to their feet and faced him as did the third. They hissed at him, but didn't attack. John roared again, taking a step forward. All three backed up a step as they hissed at him. Backing up a bit farther, one snapped at another. They moved to the side, John stayed facing them, half crouched as it to charge. After a moment all three turned around and headed back for the tall grass. John went back to the raptor to see Veronica peeking out from behind the mostly closed hatch.

"How did you beat those things?" she asked in amazement.

John leaned against the raptor hull cast her a smug smile. "I was sure they were like the ones we had on earth." he said and slapped the raptor hull. "This isn't a raptor, those were raptors. They are pack hunters and pretty smart. They also want food, not a fight. Their method of attack it to get you to look at the obvious threat, then sneak up behind you and kill you. Then they feast."

"So we need to watch out for them," Veronica stated.

John shook his head. "Not those three. I showed them this is my territory. They backed down, they won't come challenge me again. Just don't go near that tall grass." He then headed back to the antenna and said, "Now I have to get back to work."

.

Closed up for the night in their ship, Veronica leaned back in one of the reclining chairs in the back to get some sleep. John sat in the pilot's seat, monitoring for activity. At night, more animals came out. He watched small furry animals that reminded him of rodents grazing in the short grass. He then saw a herd of larger four legged grazers were approaching. The largest of these were a little bigger than dog-sized and had long tails but were covered in feathers. The ones on the edges of the pack scanned around them frequently. He also noted faint heat signatures collecting at the edge of the tall grass. The raptors were also watching this pack.

The pack was well clear of the tall grass. A couple of them were eyeing his ship closely. If these things were fast like they looked, John knew they were probably able to escape a Raptor attack. That gave him an idea. He was curious how these things tasted. They had to be better than the green food squares. He also wondered if he could establish a cooperation with the raptors.

The main hatch was facing the grass, so he quietly crawled out the bottom hatch and wormed his way to the back of the ship. Watching the pack of grazers slowly approach, he waited until they were between him and the raptors hiding in the tall grass. The then jumped up and ran straight at them.

As he suspected, in reaction to an attack, the animals ran straight away from their pursuer at first. Straight at the tall grass where the raptors were waiting. Two raptors burst out of the tall grass, one to each side of the fleeing grazers. The lead grazers weaved back and forth and headed for the tall grass. Just before they reached safety, the third Raptor jumped out and used a powerful rear foot to drive one of their heads to the ground and bite down on the body.

The grazers fled in a panic from the new threat, some running into each other as they tried to find a safe escape route. John, still running at them, helped close the circle on the terrified grazers. One tried to run past him, He met it with a kick that launched it into the air, then ran at another. The grazer let out a high pitched cry as it tried to flee away from him and ran right at a raptor. He changed direction and charged at another few fleeing.

By the time most of the pack had successfully fled in all directions, He had stopped two and each Raptor had one they were munching on. One he kicked was still alive, on the ground and trying to escape by pawing at the ground with it's front legs. John went up and snapped it's neck. He threw the 50 pound animal over his shoulder. A raptor went over to the other one he'd downed and ripped into it.

John left at a walk with his prize. He also listened closely to the raptors. They fed quickly. Once they had eaten their kills, they looked and sniffed for scraps a few minutes, then returned to the tall grass carrying the remains in their fore claws. Not one came after him.

Plucking the feathers off this thing was going to be a long task. John got a knife and skinned it instead. He was careful and studied the carcass. There was hardly any fat, just a thin layer. It was male, the mouth had teeth, even and square teeth of a herbivore. Once he had the skin off, he gutted it, pulling the guts out into the skin. He studied the head and cut if off, then cut off the feet and added it to the pile on the skin.

The meat and bone carcass he tossed up on top of the ship, then took the skin with the innards inside back towards the tall grass. Spotting a heat signature, he stopped hundred yards from it and threw the skin at the grass. and walked away. Looking back, a pack of smaller raptors ran out to rip the skin up and eat his leavings.

One thing John noticed was a lack of solid wood in this area. Building a fire to cook the carcass was going to be tough. There was plenty of moss on the rocks. When dried, that would burn. One thing there was plenty off on the bare ground was rocks. He build up a small oven and got a metal pole to skewer the carcass on. Since the moss was moist, he added a little of the liquid tilium fuel and lit the fire.

WHOOSH

The initial burst of flame bellowed out of the oven. The fire reduced to a smoky flame. He put the carcass on to cook and laid a large flat stone to cover the opening. Smoke came out the top of the oven. A thermal check showed the temperature inside grew to 376 degrees.

A soft hiss sounded from behind him. A small knee high sized raptor was watching him. Looking around the area, another was farther back, also eyeing him.

"Wait until it's done," he said.

He only got a hiss in reply. OK, so raptors weren't THAT intelligent. John had intended to go inside, seeing now four young raptors and what had to be a female to the side, watching everything. he figured he better stay here if he wanted any of that meat. The raptors stayed nearby, the young ones played and hunted as far away as the beginnings of the short grass, but never ventured to far from the mother who laid down sixty yards from him.

.

Victoria dreamed she was on Caprica in one of the fancy restaurants, sitting at a table and waiting for her food. Tendrils of a delicious aroma tickled at her nose, making her hungry. Her stomach was growling for a tasty steak she knew had to be cooking. Her mouth water in anticipation of a fine meal. Wanting it to hurry up, she moved to get up and found she was stuck in place. Angry, she pushed harder to get up.

Victoria came awake standing inside a colonial raptor. As first she was confused, not knowing how she got here. Through the view screen she saw John approach. He rapped on the view screen and waved, then pointed at the hatch. It all came back to her. She swore she still smelled her dream steak, and was angry she didn't have one. All they had was those damned food squares.

John cracked the main hatch open and peeked his head in. "I made breakfast, just be careful, we have company," he told her.

"Company? Some of your people are here?" she asked.

"No, just a few young hungries from the tall grass. Walk easy, stay close to me and don't panic," John instructed.

"Hungries?" Veronica asked and peeked out. Not 20 feet away a pair of small raptor beasts were rolling on the ground in a ball of feathers claws and teeth. A large one was lying down, head up watching John. "Why are they here?" she asked.

"We hunted together last night. I'm cooking a catch. Hungry?" he asked and stepped back.

Victoria stepped outside. Every raptor had their eyes on her. Even the two that were wrestling stopped and looked at her. There were a lot of big claws and sharp teeth out here. Following John over to a cylinder of stacked stone, the aroma of cooked meat became stronger.

John explained, "After the hunt, I skinned the one I got and gutted it. I tossed the skin and guts over to young ones, and now they came for seconds. The meat has been cooked and any parasites or bacteria it may have had is dead now."

John pulled a large flat stone off the side and reached in to pull out a cooked carcass. The large raptor got up. The little ones came running over to stand in a semi-circle a respectful distance beyond. "Foreleg or rear?" John asked.

Veronica was hungry. Those rear legs looked meaty. "Rear."

John ripped a rear leg off and handed it to her. He then ripped off one foreleg and tossed it at one of the small raptors, who caught it in the air and shook it vigorously before putting on the ground and stepping on it to rip it apart. John tossed the other foreleg to another small raptor, then ripped the neck off and tossed it to a third. He broke the last leg at the knee and tossed the lower part to the last small one. The rest of the leg he tore off and tossed it at the full grown raptor. The raptor caught it and crunched down.

The meat was a little dry and it had a very different taste, but it was still the best meal Veronica had eaten in the last two years. Seeing John feeding the beasts, she asked, "Is it wise to feed them?"

John nodded to the 'mother' and said, "Creatures like this recognize two things. Family and food. If you're not one, you're the other. Think about it."

John ate some off the carcass, and ripped the rest up to toss pieces to each small raptor, then the rest to the mother.

Veronica split the remains of her meal, mostly bone, to two of the small ones. When it was clear the food was all eaten, the small ones went back to chasing each other and wrestling. The mother laid back down and watched. They didn't go away though. That made Veronica nervous.

John got another message asking for a status and a homing beacon. Having the tracker attached, John noted the frequency and sent that as the homing beacon. He updated his status as 'landed / stable / sharing camp with dog intelligent dinosaur type creatures. Cooperative hunting.'

Veronica took on the task of looking for water. The area they were on was a long, gentle slope. Not far away was a small stream. She had thought she'd gone by herself, then one of the small raptors jumped into the stream and caught a small fish, which it gulped down. It then got onto the bank and watched her.

The stream wasn't deep, only a few inches. The stream bed was nearly a foot deep. Veronica found a spot where the land flattened in a step. Here the stream widened a bit.

She took rocks from the sides and started building a dam. The young raptor watched her curiously as she built up a dam and the water level slowly rose.

Veronica got her dam about a foot wide and the water shin deep when the raptor came over carrying a rock in it's jaws. It dropped the rock on the dam, and went to get another. She watched to run over to paw a bit with a back leg to free another rock. It picked this one up and brought it back in it's fore claws. The fact it had learned by watching her amazed her. These were smart animals!

The dam was by no means sealed, it leaked everywhere, but by the time she and the little raptor was done, they had a pool a foot deep and six feet wide at the widest point. Plenty of room to dip buckets in to get water to drink and wash with. Victoria then realized they didn't have any buckets. They did have a few empty water bottles.

Going back to the ship, the small raptor ran ahead to check something on the ground, then bend low to try and sneak up on a large dragonfly. The dragonfly lifted up, the raptor lunged. With a jog that made the raptor miss, the dragonfly flew away. The raptor watched if fly away, then looked for something else to hold it's attention. All the way back, it kept Veronica in sight.

Veronica thought about what Cavil would do if he met such creatures. The answer was easy, being large and aggressive, he'd have any they saw killed. He wouldn't see that they knew cooperation or learn how intelligent they were. He would only see them as a nuisance. Just like he viewed the humans.

That made her think about John. He respected life and avoided killing whenever possible. Through him, she got to experience what these creatures were like. She found she was liking John's way much better.

Hearing a far off bird sounding call, Veronica stopped and looked that way. See her motionless, the small raptor stopped and looked that way as well. Topping a slight rise, a colorful bird ran came into view. It snapped it's head around quickly, looking around. Seeing Veronica, it let out a screech and went back the way it came. The raptor hissed.

Right, Veronica realized, that was food that escaped. The ship was in sight. She saw the mother raptor was watching the same place closely, as was the small raptor by John. John went over to the back side of the ship and climbed up to stand on top of it. He stayed there briefly, then got down. Once down, he waved her over.

Veronica went over to him. John pointed and explained, "More turkey sized birds. They are moving along and angling away from us. Grab a few rocks to throw at them."

As John explained, the mother Raptor came around the corner, eyeing John. He ignored her. "Veronica, get as close as you can without being seen, aim for the back of the flock." he said motioning. "Me," he said pointing to himself, "And mother," he said, pointing to the raptor, "Are going to frighten them towards the tall grass and back towards you. We want to drive them as close as the tall grass as we can get them," he said as he motioned with his arms.

"Mother?" Veronica asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you have a name?" John countered. "Go on," he said and went around the front of the ship.

Two of the small raptors trailed behind John and the mother, the other two trailed behind Victoria. John walked quickly until he spotted one of the birds. He crouched down. The raptor mother did the same. Peeking up to see heat signatures in the grass, he waiting until the birds were mostly past the middle point of the trap, then charged down ahead of them. The mother raptor charged at them, her two small ones fanned out to each side of her.

Squawks and cries sounded out as the birds turned and fled back the way they came. Victoria flanked by the small raptors, charged. Yelling and throwing rocks, she again turned the birds to flee close to the tall grass.

Raptors launched out of the grass, one catching a bird with a stomp of it's foot and a killing bite. The birds panicked, flapping wildly as they fled for their lives. Not knowing which way to go, a few ran in circles belting out their cries.

Again as the noose tightened around the blindly fleeing flock, many slipped through. Some didn't. Three of the four small raptors caught their own meal. John got two, as did the mother raptor. Veronica dove and grabbed one to snap it's neck.

By the time the flock was away and fleeing in all directions, all the raptors had at least one bird and were feasting. A few more raptors, including several smaller ones, also came out to join the feast.

John wasn't hungry, so he tossed his birds at the pack of raptors. Victoria kept hers. They walked back to the ship as the animals ate their kills. John noted every raptor was munching happily down, ignoring him.

Veronica wore a smiled as she held up her bird. "I got dinner!" she beamed.

John grinned back. "I saw, that's why I gave mine to our hunting companions," he told her. "We only need one."

Glancing back, she said, "In a way, that was fun. I'm surprised those two small ones stayed with me."

"That's their hunting style," John told her. "We were the visible ones the birds fled from. The ones in the tall grass were the trap we drove them into. It's called coordinated pack hunting. They have to be at lest semi-intelligent to understand how to do that."

.

John had Victoria help to clean the bird. Again the mother and the small raptors returned to watch them and get the guts and skin John tossed their way. This time though, the mother went around to the back side of the ship. John heard claws digging at rock. Once he had the fire built and the bird skewered and in the oven, he went around to see what she was doing.

The raptor had dug a shallow hole in the ground. Standing in the hole, the raptor was plucking off some of it's short feathers to drop in the hole. Right, she was making a nest. Apparently, this raptor was becoming comfortable enough with him to nest close. Being behind the ship, she would also be hidden from prey that came by.

John had to use a little more fuel this time, not being able to find much more moss. He went on a moss gathering trip and found a few lone bushes to pull up. A small raptor who'd come with him grabbed a bush in it's teeth and yanked until it snapped the bush off. It carried the bush back, following John as he carried back his armload.

John put the brush and moss around the upped edge of the oven to help dry it out with the small raptor watching. It didn't resist when John grabbed the bush it had. It let go and let him take it.

By the oven, John and Victoria watched the little raptors go around behind the ship and snuggle up to mother.

"They are really smart," Victoria said quietly. "The one that followed me got rocks to help build a dam."

"They learn by watching," John told her. "It makes me think about how intelligent they really are." With a smirk, he added, "We could be advancing the raptor species by being here."

Victoria cast him a smile and said, "I think you make things better wherever you go."

John shrugged and replied, "Just doing what I can."

Another good thing about their diet of meat was that John was healing much faster. He removed the bandages he'd been wearing to help build the fire the next day. That and along with an empty food box to wick the fuel, and he had a large enough fire to cook two birds. They and the raptor family ate well.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch 6

Sargent Julie Colin got to her battle station quickly as the alarm rang though the ship. Half her squad was already at their assembly area. Running in, she joined her squad and looked them over. "Where's Roland?" she asked.

"Here!" Roland called as he ran in.

"Equipment check," Julie called. Her five squad members lined up and showed their rifles, spare clips, first aide kits and two grenades each.

Other squads in their platoon arrived and did their equipment checks. Undermanned, the ten squad platoon only had five. Many had been killed, some were drawn off to man the ship's guns. Being the senior Sargent, Julie took the other Sargents reports then announced, "Everyone fall into ranks!" All five squads lined up and waited for the officer to show up.

No officer came. The Gunny strode in. "Sargent Colin!" she snapped "Front and center!"

Julie strode up in front of the Gunny and snapped to attention. "Gunny, Sargent Colin and the 5th platoon ready and waiting for orders!"

In a stern tone, the Gunny said, "Julie Colin, by order of the Commander, you are now Ltjg. Colin. You will take your platoon down to the starboard flight pod. Incoming heavy cylon raiders have been spotted and may attempt to board. Send some men to the armory to get heavy machine guns. Your platoon MUST prevent the cylons from successfully boarding the ship from the starboard flight pod. Good Luck, Lt." The Gunny then turned and strode out.

Shocked, Julie focused only on what had to be done. She pointed to her squad. "Get to the armory, grab two 40 cals and ammo, then hurry to the fore and aft Starboard flight pod access tunnels. One gun to each access. "GO!"

Pointing to the other squads, Julie said, "Squads 2 and 3, take the forward flight pod access tunnel, 4 and 5, the aft flight pod access tunnel. Block them off until your machine gun arrives. Once everyone is in place and ready, we'll send scouts forward. Let's MOVE!"

Racing to the forward flight pod access tunnel, Julie thought about her limited options. She'd opted to block the access tunnels because they didn't have the manpower to cover the entire starboard flight pod. She'd have to concentrate on keeping any cylons out of the main ship hull. Rumbles sounded though the ship from guns firing. Outside, she knew a battle was going on. If cylons got in, she was going to be hard pressed to stop them.

"Colin, squad Four, radio check," she called on her boom mike.

"Squad Four, reads, Sarg. Congrats on the promotion."

"Let's hope we can celebrate later. Inform me when you're in position. I will be with squads 2 and 3. I'm splitting squad one between the two tunnels. Step up your defense at the top of the drop in the tunnel."

"Got it."

Coming to the forward access tunnel, Julie ran down it to the point where it began it's descent into the pod. Looking at the walls, she pointed to a joint deep enough to stand in and said, "I need a lookout there. Robinson, you're it. Use your mirror to see down the tunnel. DO. NOT. expose yourself!"

"Yes, Sargent," he said and got into the joint.

"Everyone else, get down. If centurions come, we want to see them before they see us," she ordered, then walked back a bit to squat against the wall.

Three of her squad came with the machinegun and a box of belted ammunition. They set up behind the rest of the men.

"Lt, Squads 4 and 5 set up and ready." came a report over the radio.

"Good. Send two volunteers down the splits in the tunnel to the flight pod to keep watch," Julie told him. She then got up and said, "I need a volunteer."

Corporal Harlan stood up. "I'll go, Sarg."

Julie wasn't going to correct her, after all, Julie had just gotten promoted. "We'll go keep a watch at the other end," she told the others. "If you see us running back, expect centurions to be following us."

.

Walking down the tunnel, the ship shuddered as something impacted. "A missile," Julie said. With the shuddering of the guns blasting away, she was sure nothing was going to survive to get close enough to get into this flight pod.

"Shouldn't we be getting more support?" Harlan asked.

"We're a precaution," Julie told her. "No cylons have been able to force their way on board yet, have they?"

"True," Harlan agreed.

Where the tunnel came into the flight pod, it split into four tunnels, for and aft to the hanger deck and flight deck. Coming down to the split, Julie scanned the five way split. Since the launch tubes on this side of the ship were not in use, the two tunnels going to the light deck were dark. The hanger bays were in use, so those were lighted.

Another impact hit the ship.

"That didn't feel like a missile," Harlan noted. "It was softer."

Julie shrugged. "Maybe it was a dud. Let's have a seat, we're here until the fight is over," she said, and sat against the wall just inside one of the splits to the fight deck. Harlan sat on the opposite wall.

"Shouldn't we be watching?" Harlan asked.

"Use your ears. Centurions are big, heavy and metal. We'll hear them coming before we see them," Julie reminded her.

They sat quietly listening to the battle beyond the hull for a few moments.

"Do you still miss him?" Harlan asked.

"Who?"

"John."

Julie let out a sigh. "Yeah, I do. Roslyn is a real bitch, making him leave. John's no cylon, he just had a mouth on him that Roslyn didn't like."

Cracking a grin, Harlan said, "He sure could take down centurions. Kinda wish he was here now."

"Me too," Julie said softly.

Julie's radio came to life. "LT! Squad Four here, we got noises from the hanger deck below. Sounds like bending metal. I think we got company."

'FRACK!' Julie thought, and replied, "Hold your positions and keep listening. Use your mirrors to look around the corners. Don't expose yourselves."

Julie then inched forward a little and listened closely. In between the blasts of the ships' guns, she did hear what she thought were footsteps. "Harlan, listen on the other side," she said quietly. Harlan went over to the other tunnel to the hanger deck.

"Sarg, over here," Harlan whispered.

Julie went over and listened to the other tunnel down to the hanger bay. She heard it too. "Sounds like four centurions," she said. Thinking quickly, she held out her hand. "Give me one of your grenades."

"Sarg?" Harlan asked with a worried look.

"Give it. I'm going to throw it. When it explodes, haul ass back to the top of the tunnel and get ready to fight," Julie told her.

"What about you?" Harlan asked.

"After you're on your way, I'll throw another one, then it's my turn to flee," Julie told her. She moved up against the wall and stuck her mirror out into the tunnel. Good, they weren't within sight yet. She pulled the pin and said, "Get set..." When she caught the first glint of metal she threw the grenade down the tunnel and stood back against the wall, around the corner.

The grenade exploded. "RUN!" Julie barked. Corporal Harlan took off running back up the tunnel.

Julie readied another grenade. The metal footsteps sounded faster. She threw the second grenade. When it exploded, she exposed herself around the corner, rifle up to look for a shot. Two centurions came into her sights. She shot a three round burst and ducked back around the corner. She heard one fall.

A hail of fire ripped into the wall she was hiding behind. She tossed another grenade around the corner. When this one exploded, she heard more metal hit the floor. She popped out again for another shot. Seeing a centurion watching, arms up to shoot, she shot her burst. The centurion shot at the same time she did. Several bullets hit her.

Julie was throw back by the impacts. Her chest and side hurt, and her right arm was on fire with pain. Using her left arm, she quickly unclipped her last grenade, pulled the pin with her teeth and threw it at the far tunnel wall so it would bounce at the centurions. She then struggled up and dodged into the far flight deck tunnel. Her right arm went numb. She managed to keep a hold of her rifle as she got into cover.

"Sarg!" came a cry over the radio. "Get back here!"

"Can't. Get ready to repel," Julie said as she leaned against the wall.

A centurion moved up the main tunnel. Julie drew her sidearm left handed and emptied the gun into it's back. It fell forward and twitched. She waited for another one to show itself. None did. It was quiet. Carefully, she peeked around the corner. Four centurions were down. One handed, it was a chore to reload her pistol but she did.

Julie keyed her mike. "This is Lt. Colin. Squad Four, status?"

"Aft flight pod tunnel clear. No contacts."

"We got four broken toasters in the forward hanger tunnel here." Julie reported.

Julie felt some pain, but surprisingly not that much for being shot multiple times. Maybe she was in shock. "Squad Four, hold, Squad Five, advance and scout. Squads two and three, advance down to my position. Bring a first aide kit with you. We are clear for the moment."

Her orders were acknowledged. Julie looked down at herself. Her right arm was bloody down to her wrist, but it wasn't gushing at least. By the lack of blood on her torso, her armor had held. She staggered out to watch down the way those centurions had come from, then checked the other tunnels. Seeing them clear, she backed up to a wall and slid down to sit. She'd done it, and didn't loose a single soldier.

.

Guarding the tunnel junctions, Julie and her platoon kept anything from getting further into the ship until reinforcements arrived. By this time the battle was over and she was sitting with only her undershirt and pants on, her arm bandaged and another bandage on her side where a bullet had driven into her lower ribs and exited out her back. Her armor had stopped four others, leaving only purple bruises where the bullets struck.

A medic team arrived with a stretcher. Julie wanted to walk, but they made her get on and lie down. Julie put Sargent Baker from 3rd Squad in charge of the platoon before she was taken away.

.

"Trying to get yourself killed?" Doc Cottle asked in his gravelly voice as he inspected Julie's wounds.

"No, Sir, just trying to keep the ship safe and my squad alive," she told him.

"Just wondering, because you should be dead," Cottle grumbled.

Julie eyed him. "What?"

"You bled very little for all the holes in you," Cottle explained. "And now, all the wounds seemed to have sealed up. Even the one through your right lung. The artery in your arm that was hit is the biggest shocker. Usually, folks bleed out within five minutes. Yours is all but healed." Looking at her, he asked, "What's your secret?"

"I don't know," Julie said defensively. "You're the doc. Don't you know?"

"I'm going to have to do some tests," he said in a grumble. "Don't worry I already got a blood sample." Jerking a thumb over his shoulder he said, "You're cleared for duty."

Julie got up and stretched. Yes, she did feel better. "Thank you, Doc," she said. She left to go get cleaned up.

.

The Gunny and the Marine Captain and doc Cottle met with Commander Adama in his ready room.

"Fastest case of healing I ever did see," Doc Cottle said. "The leg wound she got on Caprica is gone, not even a scar."

"Think it has anything to do with that cyborg we had here?" Adama asked.

"Might be," Cottle said. "In checking Colin's blood sample, I did find some micro organisms I never saw before. They looked, this is strange to say, but they looked mechanical. I remember his blood had those things in it too. It's possible he passed them on to her."

"Sir? They did spend quite a bit of time together," the Gunny offered. "It is possible he did infect her with them."

"I don't know if you can call it an infection," Doc Cottle said, eyeing the Gunny. "From what I see, it's beneficial, whatever they are. Colin didn't bleed to death. If anything, she is healing at an incredibly fast rate. Her wounds were sealed up by the time she got to sick bay."

Commander Adama looked at the Gunny. "Gunny, see if you can find out how Lt. Colin got those things in her. Work with Doc Cottle to see if we can get them into all our marines."

"Sir, what if there is a bad side effect to this?" the Marine Captain asked.

"We don't do anything until Doc Cottle here says it's safe," Adama told him.

.

The new Ltjg, Julie Colin had survived the short battle and taken out four centurions by herself. Due to the bandage around her lower ribs and over most of her right arm, she had to do a cloth cleaning to avoid getting those areas wet, no shower. She was looking forward to cleaning up then going down to the bar to have a drink and relax.

Leaving the showers, she was stopped by Lt. Palus.

"Colin?" he asked, eyeing her. "I heard you were all shot up."

"Yeah, I got hit the Doc said six times. Five perforated my arm and one skidded into my lower ribs through the webbing," she explained, motioning to the bandages.

"I heard you got one right through your lung," he stated.

"I guess, that's what the Doc said," Julie agreed.

"Then why are you on your feet?" he asked in a hard tone.

"Doc said I'm OK. I got cleared for duty. He said everything's all but healed up. I gotta see him after quarters in the morning."

"After you got shot TODAY?" he asked in disbelief.

Julie shrugged. "He said I heal fast."

"That's not fast. That's healing at jump speed!" he exclaimed. "I was going to sick bay to congratulate you, but now I guess we can go do it in the officer's lounge."

"The officer's lounge?" she asked, eyeing him.

Casting her a smirk, he said, "You are an officer now, Lieutenant Junior Grade Colin," he stated.

"Oh, yeah," she agreed meekly.

"We got you some new uniforms. Come with me, I'll give you one so you can arrive in uniform."

.

It was a weird promotion ceremony. Julie was stood up in front of the XO, Gunny and the Captain with her platoon behind her. She also got praised for taking on and killing four centurions by herself, then admonished for the same thing for not properly using her troops. After the official ceremony, the Gunny asked, "Lt. how can you heal so quickly?"

Julie thought about it and said, "When we came back from Caprica, I'd been shot in the leg. John, that cyborg guy gave me some of his nanites so I'd feel better faster. He said they would stay in my system until I was completely healed. Then he said they might see me not having my own nanites as damage, and make me a nanite producing organ so my body could make my own. I thought he was fooling, but I guess that really did happen."

"So, you grow these things inside you now," the XO said in a grumble.

"It appears so, Sir."

"At least you're not one of these frackin cyborg things," Tigh grumbled with a frown.

Julie stared at him and swallowed. "Ahh, Sir? From what John told me … there is a chance that … well, I might become one."

"WHAT!" all three officers facing her cried at once, making Julie flinch back.

"It's not my fault!" Julie cried. "John said it might be possible, he didn't know."

The Gunny asked in a hard tone, "LT. Colin, HOW did he get those into you?"

"I swallowed them." Right after she said it, due to the stares she got, she added, "In a glass of water he left for me, saying that would make me feel better."

"How did he get them into the water?" the Captain asked.

"I don't know, Sir. I just know what he told me," Julie said honestly.

"We'll discuss this later," Tigh growled and said, "Dismissed!"

.

Dr. Baltar was called with Doc Cottle, Adama and President Roslyn to try to figure out how these nanites worked. When Doc Cottle checked Julie's wounds, they were down to red marks on her skin. He weighed her and found she'd gained 6 pounds, though her measurements were slightly diminished, especially around her waist.

Doc Cottle announced, "Lt. Colin is around seven to eight pounds heavier than her size suggests. It may well be she is turning into one of these cyborgs."

"What do we do with her if she does become a cyborg?" Roslyn asked.

"If I may?" Baltar asked meekly. "I don't think we have to do anything with her."

Roslyn glared at him. "If she is turning into one of these things, that may be the Cyborgs plan to keep an eye on what we're doing and where we are. We can't have her running around the ship."

"I don't think this thing works like that," Baltar offered.

"Perhaps Colin is an experiment," Tigh offered. "If he can change us into cyborgs through the water supply, then he can mind-frack us and claim the entire fleet!"

Eyeing him like he was crazy, Baltar asked, "Isn't that being a little paranoid?"

"Can you tell us why he did that to her?" Tigh growled.

"To make her feel better, just like she said?" Baltar asked. "Or maybe make her a little more resistant to damage since from what I understand, they did spend much time together. If he wanted her as a mate, of course he'd want her to be as bullet proof as he is."

"That is pure conjecture," Roslyn stated.

Pointing at Tigh, Baltar said, "No more than what his crackpot theory is!"

"Watch it, mister," Tigh growled.

"Enough," Adama snapped. "We won't know until Colin develops further, if she's going to. Right now, she stays on duty. We don't know how far this thing is going to go. Doc, if you monitor her, you can see the changes, correct?"

Cottle nodded and said, "I'll keep an eye on her." Looking at Roslyn he added, "Just keep in mind. Colin is a Colonial Marine. She doesn't deserve to be treated like a cylon." He then got up and left.

.

A week after John arrived on the planet he dubbed 'Band', since there was only a band of life near the equator, they got their first rain storm. It began as a light rain, but quickly built up. John and Victoria went into the ship. Raptors also knew enough to get in out of the rain. All four smaller ones came in and found the bedding in the back to lie down on. Mother barely fit in to her hips. Her butt and tail still got soaked with rain.

"Well, this is tight," John said from the pilot's seat.

"At least you're up there by yourself," Victoria said from the ECO chair. Mother's huge head was on her lap.

They had been hunting with the Raptors every day, and a kind of bond was forming with them and this Raptor family. They hunted for food together, ate the remains almost together and Mother had built a nest behind the ship. Now, to seek shelter, the Raptors came inside to get out of the rain.

Despite knowing it was a very large and wild top predator that had it's head on her lap, Victoria softly petted Mother's head. Apparently Mother didn't mind, or maybe even liked it, because she didn't bite.

"How intelligent to do you think these things are?" she asked.

Looking out at the rainstorm, John said, "I initially put them right about at dog intelligence, but they learn fast, and are able to mimic our actions. The one helping you build that dam. The two that went with me and helped pull up bushes to dry for the fire, then bring more back when they went on their own to pull up brush. I am thinking they may be equivalent to large apes. They can see and copy actions. That's pretty far up on the tree for animal intelligence."

"Almost human?" Victoria asked.

John winced. "Not that intelligent, but not too far away. I doubt they can learn sciences or math, but then again, we haven't tried."

The message beacon activated. John read it and grew a grin. "A party arrived, they have the beacon the Colonials put on us. Four Cyborgs with tools and material are heading towards us from the south, about 853 mils away. Damn, that's almost on top of us."

John sent a reply, "John Connor Junior received. Do you want a pickup?"

"That will be most helpful. Shall we settle in place and wait?"

John sent, "Yes. We cannot lift off now, but will as soon as possible. Raining and local animals taking shelter on board. Must get them off before we launch."

Victoria felt a shudder in the ground. It was light, but Mother's eyes snapped open and she lifted her head. She turned her long neck around to look back outside past her hips. John also looked out the front view screens searching.

The ground trembled again.

"Quake?" Victoria guessed.

A third tremble rumbled through the ship.

"No," John said slowly, "Something very big." Looking out the extreme left side if the view screen, he watched the darkened landscape. He saw a head shape appear. There was no detail to it due to distance, but if the rain clouds cleared, then it might be big trouble.

"John?" Victoria asked.

"Frack, it's a T-rex," he said in a huff.

"A what?"

John put up the blast shields and got out of his seat. To explain, he said, "Similar to Mother here, but about 25 feet tall, 40 to 50 feet long. If he sees us, he'll crush this ship and rip it open like a soda can. We have to get Mother inside the ship now."

"She won't fit."

"You don't understand, she HAS to fit," John told her sternly. Looking at Mother, he gauged a way they could wiggle her in. He had a bit more room towards the front. Planning the move, John said, "Victoria, get up, try to get her to turn her head towards me."

Victoria slowly got up. She paused at making contact with Mother, who was now watching behind her. Upon light contact, she felt the animal shaking. "John, she's scared, and I don't dare touch her."

"Then switch places with me," he said firmly.

Victoria stood up on the ECO seat to slip past. John helped her regain her feet on the other side. "Guide her head towards the front," he said, then climbed over the seat to the Raptor's other side.

John put his head next to Mother's. It was still raining, but the sky was lightening up. The T-rex like giant was standing still, it's head showing between hills about 400 yards away. "Victoria, can you fly this thing?" he asked.

"I can."

"Then if I tell you, take off. Whether or not Mother is all the way in."

"We'll be unstable."

"We'll be alive," he countered. "Get ready, if I say go, we got about 20 seconds to reach 100 feet vertical, and let's hope it can't jump."

'The noise might attract that thing."

"If I tell you to launch, that means it's already on it's way," John said sternly. He then muttered, "A big gun would be real handy about now."

Looking at Mother's stance, her legs and feet were under her. She had come in as far as she comfortably was able to. He did have a bit of room to slide her in. That was, if her head was turned the other way. He touched her neck as he made soft cooing sounds to try and sooth her. Nope, she was frozen in place, stiff as a board. She saw the danger, and was not going to move.

Shit. This wasn't going to be easy. Worse yet, the rain had all but stopped, and he could see the T-rex nice and clear. It was still, one eye visible. He didn't know if it could see this far, but he couldn't take the chance to try and move Mother with it watching. He didn't even dare move himself. He had no idea of the visual acuity that thing had.

Mother let out a soft cooing sound as the standoff went on. Almost as if Mother was trying to console him as well.

The T-rex suddenly snapped it's head towards the tall grass. This was his chance. "Mother in!' he said and turned her head with a hard pull. She whipped her head around, turning all the way to look behind her down her other side, but that was fine. Reaching out, he grabbed the backwards knee joint on her leg and hauled on it. Mother moved in, her head and neck going into the front,. He helped her pull her hips in and ducked to assist her tail in. The ECO seat was trashed as she crushed into it, but the T-rex was still looking away as he shut the hatch.

"Yes," he breathed out in relief.

Now, he had a ship packed full of dinosaur and no idea how he was going to get her back out. He wanted to peek out from underneath to see where the T-rex was, but Mother was on the lower hatch.

"Victoria, we got a way to see out without opening the forward view screen?" he asked.

"Hand crank on the hatch is your best bet," She called to him from underneath Mother's neck.

John cracked the hatch open just enough to peek one eye out. "Still there, moving towards the grass," he reported. He watched the T-rex stalk into the grass. It then shot forward into a run, chasing something. He could see and feel it's footfalls shaking the ground.

"Now?" Victoria asked in a squeak.

"No! It's moving away." John told her. "It zig zagged, it's chasing something … It's going into the trees… OK lost from sight. Let's give it a while before we go see if it's gone."

John waited five minutes then cracked the hatch a little farther open. He watched the far off trees for any signs of movement. Some birds few up from a couple miles away. He cracked the hatch a little farther and poke his head out. Looking around he didn't see anything moving. Cracking it a bit farther he slowly stepped out and looked around.

Not seeing anything, John climbed up onto the top and scanned as far as he could see. A flock of two legged creatures topped a far hill, heading away from them. "OK, good," he said with a sigh.

Now, to get Mother out.

.

Julie thought Doctor Baltar was a whacko and a pervert. She had been ordered to let him examine her on a weekly basis to check her status. Even with the order, she refused to let him touch her or remove any clothing. Any man who had a habit of literally being caught with his pants down and doing things like 'kissing air', she didn't want near her.

Today she came in and sat down on the stool and waited for this mini-torture to be over. Knowing Baltar wanted to see her arm to see how it was healing, she wore a short sleeve t-shirt.

"Lt. Colin, how does the arm feel?" Baltar asked as he cast her a creepy smile.

"Fine. No pains, no stiffness," she said. Before he asked, she added, "My chest wound is healed, I don't have any trouble breathing and no tightness in my chest either."

"Good," he said. Inspecting her arm, he frowned. "Yes, amazing. There isn't even any scaring," he said vacantly to himself.

Julie eyed him.

Baltar shook his head slightly and said, "This may well be a possible form of immortality. Being able to completely heal any wound." Looking up at Julie's face, he said, "Her skin is looking smoother as well. No facial lines at all ... and she appears younger."

"WHO are you talking to?" Julie asked sternly. It obviously wasn't her, and no one else was present.

Baltar blinked and cast her a quick look of surprise. "I was ... just talking to myself."

"Are we finished?" Julie asked. The sooner she got away from this weirdo, the better.

"Yes, yes," Baltar said quickly. "It appears you are looking much better. Do you have any scars?"

Julie shook her head. Lifting her arm she said, "None. An old scar I had is gone too. These nanites seem to be healing everything."

"And making you look younger," Baltar added. "This is truly amazing."

Julie got off the stool. "If that is all, I must return to my duties." She left, noting he watched her go.

Pervert.

Heading down to the workout area, Julie went through her routine, doing the running machine, weights then cardio exercises. It was the same routine she had always done, but now she was running longer and doing more reps that before. She also noted more guys were watching her. When she punched the bag, it rocked and shook from every punch. Not ever seeing the bag do that before when she hit it, she hauled back with her last punch and hit it as hard as she could. The bag jumped back and swung out. She caught it on the backswing and laughed. She was getting a whole lot stronger!

She had slimmed down into a near perfect shape. Looking at herself in a full length mirror, she thought she looked better than those women who 'modeled' for a living back in the colonies. Her muscle tone was peak with good definition. Her face was indeed younger looking. Almost as if she was 18 again. In fact without the pimples, she looked even better than she did 10 years ago.

There was one downside to her condition. Even after she had her rations, she constantly felt like she was starving to death.

Julie hit the showers then went to her tactics class. Being an officer now, she had to attend battle strategy classes as well as organizational classes to learn how to keep troops supplied and functioning at top performance. Troops walked on their feet and traveled on their stomachs. Good footwear and decent food were two paramount necessities to have effective forces. Well, under current conditions they did the best they could.

Today's lesson was a study of a hilly terrain with the objective atop the highest hill in the area. The Captain had Julie explain to him what she had to do to secure the objective. She put snipers in surrounding hilltops and positioned a machine gun nest to cover the advancing troops. The troops she had move up low and undercover while the machine gun and the snipers kept the defenders busy. She thought she had it covered.

The Captain pointed out a spot on the hill. "See this depression? It's a possible ambush spot. Worse yet, if the enemy has forces there and they stay hidden until your troops pass by, they come at your troops from behind and cause major problems, maybe even wiping them out. Always make sure your flanks are covered, even if you don't see an obvious threat."

"I see, Sir," Julie agreed.

"When you deployed your platoon during the last battle, your initial plan was good. You had limited forces and used them wisely, plugging the choke points. Can you tell me what you did wrong that day?" he asked.

Julie thought about it and said, "No Sir, Once my men were set, I deployed forward scouts to warn us of approaching centurions. My plan worked out well."

"It worked out well because there were only four centurions that you stopped," he said firmly. "Yes, you did set up efficiently, and put out scouts as you should. If there had been more centurions coming, what would you have done?" he asked. Before she could answer, he said, "You were lying wounded, away from your troops. There is no way you can lead your troops when you're down, no where close to them. You are their leader now, Colin, the one who gives the orders. Taking on the scout mission yourself was endangering everyone. You send people to be your eyes. You should have stayed at the line. THAT is what you did wrong."

"But Sir…"

"No butts," The Captain said firmly. "You must stay with the bulk of your troops. Let the Corporals and Sargents lead the scouts. Your job is to watch over everyone. You can't do that fighting off by yourself."

"Yes, Sir," Julie said with a huff.

In a softer tone, he said, "I know you are used to being the Sargent, and you did well performing your role. Now, you have a new role. You are the tactical leader of the entire platoon. Your troops will be counting on you to lead them all through the battle. While we're at it, you really should be eating in the officer's lounge now. I expect to see you there at dinner."

"Yes, Sir." Julie thought briefly about stopping by the mess to grab something to eat before she went to the Officer's lounge. Maybe she could actually fill her bottomless pit for once.

.

On the way to the Officer lounge, Julie passed by some crewmen working on a machine. Bits of metal were all over the floor. They looked too busy to clean them up. "You guys want me to sweep that up for you?" she asked.

The pair beamed at her. "Sure, we'd appreciate it!"

"We don't have a broom, just those rags. Just push the mess against the wall, that would be a big help." the other one said.

Julie grabbed a rag and got down on her hands and knees and swept the bits into a pile. A metal sliver stuck her finger. Feeling the sting, she sucked on her finger.

Damn, that tasted good.

Julie looked at her finger. The sliver was out, but her stomach growled. That was really good! Julie glanced at the men. They hadn't noticed. She swept up as much as she could into her hand, then used the cloth to shake a bit more in. The bits left, she pushed against the wall. Standing up, she said, "I got most of this, I'll go get rid of it."

"Thanks, Ma'am!"

Julie walked down the hallway a ways out of sight. She tasted the metal bits. She didn't know why she was eating metal, but she was so hungry it tasted awesome. These things sprinkled on cupcakes would rock!

After she finished her snack, she went into the officer's lounge and immediately felt out of place. The Captain waved her over to his table. A crewman brought her rations. It felt really odd sitting with officers, but it was something she'd have to get used to.

Some banter was passed around when another LT. noticed she was sucking on her spoon like a lollipop. She blushed and put the spoon down. Everyone else thought it was her nervousness. What she didn't tell them was she really wanted to eat that spoon.

.

By some miracle and with Mother's assistance, John got Mother off the ship and back outside without hurting her or causing any more damage. Two of the 'children' got off by themselves. The other two were snuggled into the now ripped up bedding and sleeping peacefully. He managed to get them up and out the door.

The ECO chair was snapped off it's pedestal. He wouldn't need it for this flight anyway. Other than that, she ship was in good shape. The cockpit didn't have any damage to it, thankfully.

"Victoria, if you can fly, I'll just stand behind you," John said as he reached back and shut the hatch. "Just start up easy, we got company outside."

Victoria nodded and started the engines. John kept a watch out the front. The raptors moved away at hearing the strange noises from the ship. John gave her the compass

reading to fly in. She lifted up and they were on their way.

As they flew, John scanned the landscape below from behind the pilot's seat. On this part of the planet, both the foliage and wildlife was abundant. Animals and birds looked reptile like, he figured the planet was fairly early in it's evolution. Then again, those raptors were very intelligent. On Earth a great cataclysm wiped out the dinosaurs. If that never happened here, then he imagined he was seeing what Earth life would be like if there was no giant comet strike.

They flew a good part of the day, passing over a lake that was clear and blue, and teeming with life. Fifty miles beyond the lake, he saw a pole being waved. Four cyborgs were on a grassy plain with a pile of equipment. He pointed and said, "Victoria, set us down near them."

The four ran over to the ship as it settled down in place, waving to him. John waved back and turned to open the hatch.

Two of the young raptors were watching him.

"I thought I kicked you two out?" he asked them with a frown.

The one with a orange pattern on his chest feathers reached up and scratched at the hatch, as if trying to open it. John shook his head and opened the hatch with the button.

The two raptors raced out and around the startled reception committee and began searching the area.

John introduced the new arrivals to Victoria. All of them were in green overalls, boots and light gray work gloves. The dark haired man was Derek Reynolds, the tall sandy haired man was John's friend, Jasper Young. The shorter brown haired man was Greg Hollister, and the red haired woman who was half a head shorter than Victoria was Eleanor Weaver, a friend of the Connor family.

"Jasper and I went to school together, Eleanor was a year behind us, but we still mostly hung out together," John explained.

"It's nice to meet you all," Victoria said with a smile.

"She doesn't speak English, Russian or Chinese?" Jasper asked.

"No. Victoria is a cylon. Her kind are from another planet. They are an offshoot of the colonial humans, which are not the ... most kind people in the universe," John told him. "I'll give you a data dump on them."

"What are those?" Eleanor asked, watching the raptors running around, searching.

"I'm calling them Raptors, like the ancient dinosaurs from Earth. They are physically similar, and very intelligent," he explained. "I got them off the ship, but they snuck back on before liftoff. There are two more their size, and the Mother back at our landing zone. We've been hunting with them the last couple weeks."

Greg said, "They seem to be very curious. I see they are not going very far away."

"They are probably looking for their Mother. I don't know if they realize we've flown 900 miles away from where they got on," John explained.

Eleanor walked over to hug John. "Sarah said she is happy you survived your trip."

John returned the hug. "Thanks. What did you bring with you?" he asked, looking at the pile of metal containers and material.

"Welder, a small forge, basic tools and some stock to get started," Eleanor told him.

John was happy to hear they had tools. They had a chance to get some serious work done.

.

Victoria listened to them talking, not understanding a word. Seeing one of the raptors come over, she turned to it. The raptor looked at her then went over to John and reached up with a claw and put it on his arm.

John looked down at it. He offered a soothing coo.

The raptor opened it's mouth and with a hiss, vocalized "Hosher."

John had to think about what it was trying to say. "Mother?" he asked.

"Hosher," it said again and looked around.

Eleanor gushed out a few words Victoria didn't understand..

"He wants his mother," John concluded. "We have to take them back to their family."

Jasper spoke to John in their language. John replied, casting the Raptor a couple glances. He then told Victoria, "My friends have not established a camp yet. We will use our camp on the bare ground. It is better to keep watch on and we need to take the raptors back to their family."

"I can help load," Victoria said, glancing at the stack of supplies.

"We will get those. See if you can coax the other raptor over here and get her back inside," John told her. He then clasped the raptor's claw and moved back into the ship.

Luckily, the raptor went in with him. Seeing them go in, the other raptor raced back inside. It was a tighter fit, but there were enough seats for people, and the raptors this time stood behind the cockpit seats with John as Victoria flew them back.

Upon landing, John got another surprise. A raptor turned and pushed the button to open the hatch. The pair raced back out to their Mother a short distance away. The pair made noises, jumped and flapped their arms as if telling about their flight.


	7. Chapter 7

CH 7

With help, John and his friends got a real landing area set up. finding a few dead standing trees a mile away, Jasper and John downed the trees for firewood. Eleanor, Victoria and Greg worked at building a stacked stone structure next to the oven. Derek got the solar panels set up, and erected the windmill / science station.

While the cyborgs set up their camp, Mother watched from the side. The young raptors followed workers and pulled up rocks to bring over to them in their fore paws. John noted that they also went in and came out of the ship freely. If the hatch was shut, they opened it.

Mother let out a short fog-horn sounding hoot. John saw she was on her feet now, motionless and watching a hill. John looked over to where she was watching and saw grass moving. By the motion, it looked like a snake. A really big snake.

"Hunting time," he said. that got people to stop working and watch.

The snake was tracking to the left and towards them. John walked slowly out from the camp and across the snake's path. Watching it closely, he noted Mother also moved slowly towards it.

"John, what are you doing?" Jasper asked via short range electronic link.

"Snake hunt," John send back. "Big snake, at least thirty feet long. Move far behind Mother, get ready to grab it's tail."

"We hunt snakes?" Greg asked.

"Raptors need meat. We help the raptors hunt," John explained. Seeing Mother had stopped, John angled towards the snake on it's other side. The young raptors were moving to complete the circle. One was following Jasper, one by Mother and the other two moved behind him.

The snake kept moving until it saw him. It stopped and lifted it's head, which was closer than John thought. It was big, all right. The head had to be a foot across. It tasted the air with it's tongue and moved towards him.

Mother jumped. Flying at it, her back feet with those long sharp claws and her head first, she drove the snake's head to the ground with one foot, pinned it to the ground with her other and bit hard on the snake's body in between. The snake contracted, trying to coil up. It twisted and wiggled as Mother bit down hard and shook her head. Jasper raced in and grabbed the tail. He was dragged towards the head until Greg also grabbed the tail. Together they kept it from coiling up around Mother.

Seeing Mother had missed the head itself, John raced in and punched the head hard, smashing it's skull.

The snake fought hard, twisting and trying to get free. It was a doomed effort, Mother had bitten through the place she'd grabbed. Even though the head and a piece of fore body was severed from the rest of the snake, the body still withered and pumped blood for fifteen seconds before it settled down to quiver, then relaxed in death. By the time it stopped moving, all four young raptors were also on it, ripping and tearing.

John wondered how roasted snake was going to taste.

.

On the planet below, John, his team and the raptors were pulling their meal apart. In orbit above, a pair of Vipers were verifying their readings.

"Pegasus, this is Blue Leader. We have located the source of the signal on the surface below. IFF shows contact is a Colonial Raptor, 106, from the Galactica. No radio contact."

"We read you, Blue Leader. Hold position and standby to cover landing team. Raptor en route to your location."

.

Unlike the raptors who ate chunks of snake, skin, bones and all, John preferred to peel the skin off the snake meat and cut it into serving platter sized steaks to roast in the oven. He got several thick steaks from the mid body. Seeing the feast, other raptors came out of the tall grass to get some. They waited until Mother, John and their group were done and on their way back to their camp before they moved in to scavenge the rest of the reptile.

After feasting on snake, Mother returned to her nest. Three of the four young Raptors went inside to lie on the remains of the bed. The cyborgs returned to work on their camp. John brought the antenna out and mounted it on a rotating frame base to easily aim it at Earth.

Greg discovered some rocks here had a high metal content. High enough that he was able to melt the rock and pour it out on flattened ground to make large slab pieces to give their structure a roof. Making a mold, he poured rock into the molds to make cement block sized bricks. By the time the sun went down, they had a twelve by fourteen shelter up with a roof on it.

Not having to sleep, work continued on through the night. The only one who went into the ship to sleep was Victoria. She curled up to share space with the raptors. They also cuddled up with her. It felt strange to Victoria, but it was nice and warm.

At pre-dawn, just before sunup, John had thirteen pounds of snake jerky drying in the oven. The antenna was aligned with Earth. John send a message that he had made contact with the team and they were setting up a camp. Soon they would be studying the feasibility of this planet for habitation. He also sent all the information he had on the Raptor species they had encountered, and how they were working together.

Once the message was sent, he turned the antenna down to keep from collecting rain water. Settling down just outside the ship hatch, he sat down to go into standby for two hours.

.

Inside the ship, Victoria was awakened by a kick against her back. The rear foot touching her wiggled then kicked again. Her head was on a pile of feathers she was using for a pillow, and something was balled up behind her knees. Another quiver and a kick.

Lifting herself up, she saw the Raptor behind her was asleep, but it's legs were jerking in kicks. What the hell? She looked outside. It was getting light out. She may as well get up for the day.

Victoria got up. The restless raptor shot up and looked at her, then ruffled it's feathers and stepped over another one to follow her out. She passed by John and grabbed the water buckets. Seeing John's eyes open, she announced, "I'm going for water."

The sun was peaking up over the horizon, right in her eyes. Victoria kept her head down. Beside her the raptor ran ahead a little, then stopped to sniff and dig at the ground until she passed, then caught up again.

Coming to the pool, Victoria dipped each bucket in to fill it. Used to the raptor running around her, she didn't pay attention to the footsteps behind her until she saw the raptor in front of her standing in the pool. It was watching something behind her.

Then a rifle butt smashed into the back of her head.

Victoria cried out as she pitched forward into the water. Curled up in pain, she let out a cry and held the back of her head. The raptor hissed.

"GET UP TOASTER!" a man with a rifle growled.

The raptor leaped up on him. He saw it jump too late. His rifle was ripped out of his hands as the raptor landed on his chest, bit his helmeted head and ripped down with both back feet as it gripped his shoulders with it's fore claws. Falling back, the raptor shook it's head and tore his body armor off as the man screamed and flailed. A short burst of gunfire and the raptor fell to the side. It flopped briefly and another burst splattered it's blood onto the ground.

"That frackin thing tried to kill me!" the man on the ground wailed.

.

John shot to his feet upon hearing the gun shots. Looking over at the pond, he saw one colonial looking soldier on the ground by the now dead raptor. Three others were hauling Victoria up to her knees.

FUCK!

The other cyborgs also came awake at the sounds, as did Mother. Armed gunmen ran towards them from a short ways away. John could see another raptor ship a hundred yards away. "Everyone, hands up, quick," John called.

Seeing her dead child and Victoria being abused, Mother didn't listen. She stayed motionless behind the ship, eyeing the men who killed her child. She flexed her leg muscles, ready to leap. One of the dark clad men stayed with the one on the ground. Two others pushed one of her hunting mates along forcefully back towards her. When they were about to be lost from view, she jumped up and came down on the men, one powerful back claw raking each. Both were driven to the ground screaming. She bit one's head and shook his head off his body.

Wailing screams sounded, loud noises filled the air. Hot bees stung her flesh. Mother bit the other one and shook it to fly in the direction of the bees. More dark men were coming, making the loud noises. With a roar of anger and pain, she charged. Her hunting mates charged with her. The pains increased and her sight failed. She fell down, unable to get back up.

John didn't fall. He charged the men with rage in his heart. The bullets did penetrate his flesh before pinging off his endoskeleton. He didn't look, but knew the other cyborgs were right behind him. The men shooting at them backed up in fear, seeing their guns weren't doing any good.

John also noted the pilot was still in that ship. He charged into the men, punching one hard enough to destroy his helmet. "Get them!" he yelled, and raced on for the ship powering up to take off.

The ship lifted and John jumped up to catch the edge and pull himself into the hatch. A man at the ECO panel screamed. John grabbed him by the neck and threw him out.

"We're boarded!" the pilot yelled. The copilot shot John again. John pulled his helmet off and knocked him out, then knocked the pilot out and pulled him from his seat. Jumping into the pilot's seat, John got control of the craft and brought it back down to land. He shut it down and raced off to see who was left.

The marines who'd attacked hadn't stood a chance against five cyborgs and a full grown raptor. Four were still alive. Two Eleanor and Greg only wounded with broken bones, then took their guns. The one who was helping the man downed by the young raptor saw the carnage, tossed his gun down and his hands in the air.

That didn't save him from the surviving raptors. All three raced at him. He screamed, "NOOO!", but they jumped on him and ripped him and the wounded one apart anyway. The men screamed until they bled out from being torn to pieces.

Hearing the sound of jets coming, John looked up. "Fighters inbound!" he yelled and pointed. He then raced over to pick up one of the guns. "Pick up a gun, make yourselves small and shoot!" he yelled. He quickly checked the clip. It was almost empty. He searched the body and slapped in a fresh clip.

The fighters were a mile out. John shot a short burst to track the trajectory, then aimed at the fighter on his right. He shot two more bursts to verify the arc then shot repeated bursts at the fighter. The fighter shot rounds back, stitching into the ground on either side of him, throwing up clods of dirt. An engine caught fire and the viper banked away.

By now, all the cyborgs had guns. The remaining fighter's rounds chewed up ground, then it too began to smoke then caught fire. It tried to bank away and exploded.

"Damn Colonials!" John roared. He went back to the men's ship and got on the radio. Keying the mic, he asked in a growl, "Who the FRACK is this? Is that you Adama?"

"This is the Battlestar Pegasus, Admiral Cain commanding. Who is this?" a hard female voice asked in return

"John Connor," he replied heavily. "WHY are you attacking us?"

"You are cylons, and we're here to destroy you!"

"We're not cylons, you twisted piece of shit!" John spat. "The only thing you killed was local wildlife! Take your ships and GO, before you force us to do something very bad to you!"

"You will surrender. Failure to comply will result in death by nuclear fire!"

"Are you really THAT fracking stupid? You'd nuke this planet with your own men down here?" John asked in disbelief.

"Acceptable losses," the voice said flatly.

"John," Eleanor said from behind him. "If they are on a spaceship, we need to get up there to stop them. We copy voices and drive these ships up to them. We can't let them drop a nuke. It would devastate this world."

"We're going to have to fight a lot of people," he warned.

"We are."

John keyed the radio. "All right, to keep you from destroying life on this planet, we'll let your men bring us up."

"I want to talk to one of the marines."

"Fine."

.

Admiral Cain waited. Another transmission came in. "Pegasus, this is Corporal Bishop. We have control of our raptor, and the one from Galactica. Seven dead, and we have prisoners."

"Who is on the other Raptor?" Cain asked.

"This is Sargent Genov, Sir. Prisoners are secured and the wounded are on board. We're ready to take off."

Cain turned to her Gunnery Sargent. "Is that them?" she asked.

"Yes, Ma'am. I will have the proper restraints for cylons waiting in the hanger deck."

"Get to it." Cain told her. "Flight, bring those raptors home. Did either viper pilot survive?"

"No Ma'am. One died on impact, the other got eaten by something down there."

Cain shook her head. "Such a big loss for a small gain. Maybe these cylons know something useful."

.

Interrogating the pilot and co-pilot and having listened to them talk, Jasper flew one raptor, Greg flew the other. The pilot and copilot readily gave their names and call signs to the freaky looking things that had to be a new form of centurion. They were then stripped and tied up in the back of the Galactica raptor. Jasper and John were wearing their flight suits. The men were shocked that these things were able to duplicate their voices.

On the Galactica raptor, Victoria played co-pilot. The three raptors were back on the bedding, refusing to be left behind. Eleanor and Derek were by the hatch, each toting two guns set on full auto and all the clips of ammo they could salvage. The surviving Pegasus marines were left on the ground. Wounded and weaponless, John didn't figure they had too long to live. The raptors in the tall grass were probably getting hungry. Those men had mercilessly attacked for no reason. Now they would be food.

On the Pegasus raptor, Jasper flew, John sat copilot. All their equipment they could pull up and bring quickly was stacked in the back. They had guns, but what this raptor had was better. John had control of the loaded chain-gun attached to the front of the ship.

"What are we going to do, John?" Jasper asked as they raised up through the atmosphere.

"First off, we're not going to land on that ship," John told him. "Victoria has the coordinates I want to jump to. I set them into this jump system as well. When we're clear of the planet, we jump and leave these bozos behind. It's a system that has a good chance at having a habitable planet."

They cleared the atmosphere and saw the single, huge ship. John got on the radio with his own voice. "Is the wicked Witch of the West who calls herself Cain available?" he asked.

"What? Who is this?" Cain snapped.

"John Connor. I just wanted to say bye. Your marines who lived are on the ground. Better pick them up before something eats them. Three, two, one, Jump!"

With that, both raptors disappeared.

.

Relaxing in John's old room that was now hers due to having Officer privileges, Julie read while she sucked on a spoon she'd kept. She had no idea why metal tasted so good now. It was like having candy, but without the calories. The spoon in her mouth felt thin. Pulling it out, she saw it was thinner. This one was almost gone. Why her saliva was now able to break down metal, she had no idea. Maybe she really was turning into a cyborg.

Putting the spoon back in her mouth to suck on it some more, she thought about that concept. John said it might happen, and even though she was trim and tight, she had gained another three pounds. She should be pudging out with the weight gain, but she wasn't. Was she growing metal bones?

Thinking about John, she wondered where he was. At least he was alive and not floating about in space with that frame he'd made, trying to find a planet. Although that gave her some comfort, she really missed John. She grinned at the way he refused to 'respect' those who were mean to him. Even the XO, who was grouchy and miserable, wasn't able to do anything to him.

The ships loudspeaker announced, "Attention crew, the Galactica picked up a new contact on Dradis. We are not the only battlestar left. We have made contact with the Pegasus."

Through the door, Julie could hear cheering. If they had found John and a ship full of cyborgs, THEN she would cheer. They would be real fighting power.

Julie was called to have her platoon ready in dress uniforms for an official welcoming ceremony. She hated those, but got her troops together and had them dress up, then did a personnel inspection before marching down to the flight deck. A few didn't have dress uniforms, so she begged some off other platoons. With ten minutes to go, she had her platoon dressed, then quick marched down to the hanger bay where Mr. Grumpy, as John called him, was pacing and waiting.

Julie suffered through the abuse of 'almost' being late, and got her platoon into ranks. Even thought they were in place on time, they stood motionless for almost an hour before President Roslyn came aboard. It was another half hour before Admiral Cain arrived with her own 'honor' guard of armed marines. Julie called salute, and they held their salute as Cain, Adama and Roslyn talked.

Staring at nothing and bored out of her mind as the meeting and 'happy to see you's' went on, Julie didn't listen to a word. That was said until Admiral Cain asked, "Have either of you head of a cylon that goes by the name John Connor?"

Adama grumbled a "We're familiar with him, yes."

"You know where he is?" Roslyn asked.

"Now now. We found one of your raptors," Cain said tightly. "I sent a raptor down to the surface of the planet it was on. This Connor wiped out the marine squad and most likely my pilots, shot down two vipers, then stole our raptor and got away with yours too."

It was all Julie could do not to smirk at the woman's outrage. 'Bad John', she thought. Then again, she knew John didn't initiate that conflict, than wasn't like him.

"We need to have a private discussion about him," Adama stated. "My best suggestion, Admiral, is don't fight him."

"He claims to be from Earth. We sent him away on a raptor to get rid of him," Roslyn explained.

Cain cast her a hard gaze. "You gave a cylon a raptor?" she asked.

"We don't know what he is, but he is not a cylon," Roslyn stated. "On the chance that he is from Earth, we put a tracker beacon on that raptor to follow him. We lost the signal, but apparently you found it."

"Admiral, we do need to speak in private about this matter. There are a few things you need to know," Adama said again, stressing his point.

They finally walked off, talking about the fleet. Once they were clear of the hanger deck, Julie got to march her troops back to the barracks and dismiss them. Although she wasn't feeling as sore as usual from standing in the same spot for hours, she knew her troops were.

"Guys, do some working out to loosen up then take a rest. Keep those uniforms ready in case we need them again," she told them.

"Hopefully not," Harlan said. She then pulled a spoon out of a pocket. "Got you a snack," she said with a crooked grin.

Julie laughed. Her habit was becoming known. "Thank you, I'll save it for an after dinner mint."

Julie had just gotten changed into her normal uniform when the Captain called her. Admiral Cain wanted to speak with her.

Frack.

.

Once again, Julie stood at attention outside Commander Adama's ready room until she was called in. She swore the brass loved to make people wait. One of Cain's men came out to usher her in. She marched in, came to attention and saluted. "Sirs! Lieutenant Junior Grade Colin reporting as ordered!"

Adama and Cain eyed her. Cain got up and walked over to stand by her side, out of her view.

In a smooth but firm tone Cain said, "Lt, I understand you know this John Connor fairly well?"

"That is correct, Admiral. He went on a mission with us, and I kept track of him much of the time when he was here on Galactica," Julie stated to the wall.

"Did you frack him?" Cain asked.

"What?" Julie asked indignantly and stared at the woman.

"Eyes front, soldier!" Cain loudly barked. "I asked, did you frack him?"

Julie had to force herself not to belt Cain, even if she was an admiral. Red faced in anger, she said, "I. Did. Not …. Admiral!"

"Then why did he use his cylon ability to heal you?" Cain asked in a harder tone.

"John Connor is a cyborg, NOT a cylon, Admiral," Julie stated.

"Answer the question!"

"I was wounded, he did what he could to help me, as he did with everyone," Julie stated.

"Did you ever wonder why he was so helpful?" Cain asked. "Perhaps he was looking for recruits inside the Colonial forces? Cylons have been trying to do that since the beginning of the war. Apparently, he was just a little smarter than your average toaster."

Julie clenched her jaw to keep her mouth shut.

"What will it take to kill him?" Cain asked.

"I do not know." Julie stated. She forgot to add 'admiral' onto her statement. Frack it.

Cain turned to Adama and said, "Commander, I am going to reassign Lt. Colin to the Pegasus to find out what it is that this John Connor did to her."

"Admiral, we have been keeping track of minor changes to Lt. Colin. Other than healing at an amazing speed, and looking better, there has been no significant changes," Adama said firmly.

"I will have my people determine that," Cain said stiffly. "Major, take charge of Lt. Colin and take her over to Pegasus. Have her medically checked out."

"Yes Admiral," the man said, snapping a salute.

"Admiral, Lt. Colin is one of my people," Adama stated.

"Was, Commander," Cain retorted. "She may be of vital strategic value. I am taking her."

Frack, frack, frack! This day had gone to hades, Julie thought.

"Lieutenant, you have your orders," Cain stated.

Julie saluted with the hand she wanted to smash into Cain's face. "Yes, Ma'am."

Julie thought she would be allowed to get her belongings. Nope, the Major steered her straight to one of the raptors and made her get on. "I don't even get to bring my things?" she asked

The major grinned as he swept her body with his eyes. "Don't worry, you won't need them."

Wonderful, another pervert.

.

Julie was taken to the Pegasus infirmary. There, the med techs had her strip and put on a white hospital gown. They took a blood sample, then gave her a full body X-ray. After the x-ray they took her vitals then had her sit on a cot while they waited for the test results.

The whole time, a Pegusus Colonel was there with her. At least the Colonel was a woman and not another pervert. A nurse came in and quietly talked to the Colonel. The woman left briefly then returned with two more marines. She glared down on Julie.

"So, you are a Colonial officer, huh? Tell me why you have metal in your bones," the Colonel asked.

"I seem to be growing it," Julie replied.

"I do believe a sir goes onto the end of your replies," The Colonel said in a harder tone.

"Oh, is this a military matter, Sir?" Julie asked. "And here I thought it was a medical visit to find out what's happening to me." She was really beginning to understand why John was the way he was with higher ups.

"There are micro organisms in your blood that are mechanically based, and you have a substantial amount of metal in your bones. You are not human," the Colonel stated.

"Possibly not, SIR, I may be turning into a cyborg. I was warned that may happen," Julie told her.

"Colonel Shaw," a crewman said as he came in and handed her a paper. Shaw read it and handed it back saying, "Thank you. Bring me the cylon restraints."

"Cylon restraints?" Julie asked.

"Yes," Shaw said crisply. "You are not human, so when not in holding, you need to be in restraints."

"What did I do?" Julie asked, shocked.

"Nothing yet, cylon. Don't worry, we have the perfect place for you," Shaw stated.

The restraints, heavy cuffs strapped together with thick steel straps and ankle cuffs connected by heavy chain, were brought in. Julie was turned around and cuffed.

"Hey! Why are you doing this? What is the charge?" Julie cried.

"Being a cylon is enough to throw you out an airlock," Shaw stated heavily. "Before we sent you on your way, we want some answers. Take her down with the other one, in the opposite cell."

"Cell? Cell! Wait! At least let me get dressed!" Julie cried.

"That uniform is too good for you. Get her out of here!" Shaw snapped.

Julie was then jerked and marched down corridors in the hospital gown. Coming to a closed hatch, a marine opened it and shoved her though into a hallway lined with bars. Holding cells. A cell door on the left was opened and she was thrust in. The door slammed shut behind her.

"Hey! At least take these cuffs off!" Julie yelled.

One of the men eyed her with a lecherous grin and said, "Not until you've been softened up some."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Julie asked in a demand.

"Ask her," he said and jerked a thumb over his shoulder before he left.

Julie then noticed a blond woman lying on the floor in the cell across the hall. The shift she was in was a light mottled gray, maybe white at one time but now it was filthy dirty. she was chained to the floor, her hair was in disarray, one eye was purple with the reddish yellow highlights of an old bruise. Another bruise showed on her leg. Her eyes were vacant. The hair was different, blond instead of dark, but Julie knew that face. As Julie looked at her, she asked, "Victoria? Is that you?"

"No," the woman said weakly. "My name is Gina. Who are you?"

"Julie Colin, Lieutenant Julie Colin of the Galactica."

Lifting her head slightly, Gina said, "Well, Lieutenant Julie Colin of the Galactica, welcome to hell."

Julie started at the condition of the Six. By the dark spots on the gray shift, she had been beaten more than once. The vacant look in her eye told of more abuse than that. Suddenly, she knew what the 'softening up' comment meant. 'Oh GODS, John, I need help!' she thought frantically. John was long gone. It was clear her own command wasn't going to do anything, and seeing the woman across from her, she knew what her fate here was going to be.

Shuffling around in a circle due to the heavy foot cuffs now chained together, Julie racked her brain. What could she do? Adama had let that bitch Cain put her down here. "I'm not a fracking cylon!" she snapped at no one. No she wasn't a cylon. She was becoming a cyborg. A cyborg like John. Stronger, faster than she ever was before. That would mean nothing unless she got out of these cuffs. She had to before they came back to 'soften' her up.

"You'r not a cylon," Gina said.

Julie looked over to see Gina sitting up.

"But they don't believe you," Gina added. "This Victoria, she was a Six? Do you know what happened to her?"

Julie nodded. "She was found in the holds on Galactica. John had me put her in the brig so no one would shoot her. When he left, he took her with him. I don't know where they are now, except that John will not let anyone hurt her."

"I'm glad she got away," Gina said with a tiny smile.

"Yeah. I wanted to go, but I had responsibilities," Julie said sadly.

"Why do they think you are a cylon?" Gina asked.

Julie let out a snort and said, "John helped me. I was wounded, he put these tiny micro-things he called nanites in my water. They healed my leg ... they are healing everything. I get shot, it heals. I'm also pretty fond of eating metal now. I weight about fifteen pounds more than my measurements suggest. The Doc here said I have metal bones now. I'm turning into a cyborg like John is."

Gina struggled up and came over to the bars of her cell, holding onto them. "What is John?" she asked.

Julie cracked a grin and said, "A cyborg. The toughest, kindest person I've ever met. He tried to help people, but Adama, Tigh, Roslyn, they all hated him. They hated him worse I think, because they couldn't do anything to hurt him. Bullets just bounced off him. Roslyn was going to throw him out an airlock, so he made this contraption to propel himself through space with. They could not threaten or control him. John was awesome. He told them like it was, and they hated him for it."

"Will he come back for you?" Gina asked expectantly.

"I doubt it," Julie said, looking at the floor. "John is not very fond of Colonials or Cylons. I can't blame him. He does what he can to help and everyone spits in his face. Would you ever come back here if you managed to get away?"

Gina was quiet for a moment, then said, "Julie, you said you eat metal now. Can you eat those cuffs off you?"

Julie looked at her. Why hadn't she thought of that? Kneeling down, Julie bent low and crunched her body together, wiggling to force the bar joining her hand cuffs down around her butt. Grunting with effort, she strained her arms and folded on herself pushing the bar lower. "Come on!" she groaned out, stretched her arms a little farther down. The bar slipped below her butt onto the back of her legs. She fell to the side. The next problem were her feet being chained together. She worked her hands lower just beyond her knees, and folded one leg to the side, then the other. Another groan due to the unnatural position and she got one foot out, then the other.

"Yes," she said as she flopped back flat on the floor. Even Gina gave a small cheer for her.

Julie sat up. Looking at the cuffs and bar, the bar was bolted to the cuffs. Julie brought the bolt of her left cuff to her mouth and began sucking on it. She licked it to get more spit on it, hopefully to dissolve it faster. Yum, she had a treat.

It took a while, sitting on the floor and licking / sucking on the bolt but she did get a small piece of metal into her mouth and down her throat. The last of the bolt head. A shake and rattling it some and the rest of the bolt dropped out. She started working on the bolt for her right hand.

.

Chas and Ron came on guard duty for the cylon slut. No one was in the cells with them, the last shift had gotten their fun time early in their shift.

"Chas, heard we got a new one. She was caught pretending to be a marine officer," Ron said. "Heard she is fine looking too."

"Good, let me get us logged in for a couple hours of doing nothing, then we'll got check her out."

Ron elbowed Chas. "Let me go first, I want to break her in."

Chas eyed him. "It's called privilege of rank. I go first. Besides, she might be really feisty until she knows her place. Can you frack and fight at the same time?"

"What fight? She's got hand and foot cuffs according to this sheet. What's she gonna do, try to bite me?"

"Maybe, or crack your skull between her legs," Chas said with a grin.

"Like I'm gonna put my head down there," Ron replied with a snort.

"Look, we wait until feeding time. Make it easy, she fracks, she gets food. She'll give in or starve. If she wants to starve, she'll get weak and make it easier for us. Don't worry, we'll be getting some."

.

Julie sat on her bunk, hands behind her back. Once she'd gotten her hands free, she was able to uncouple the chain holding her foot cuffs together. She laid it in place so it appeared she was still bound. It already seemed like she'd been here days. Gina said food should be coming soon, so she impatiently sat quietly, waiting for it.

Eventually the hatch in the hallway opened. Two guards came in with trays.

Chas looked at Julie. Yes, that was a fine piece of ass, slim, sexy, and a nice pair of tits. He bet she'd struggle for all she was worth. He told Ron, "I got this one. You can have the other one."

"Asshole. We're swapping next time," Ron replied. He eyed Gina and said, "It's time for you to be fed. Be a good girl and you can avoid bruises."

Julie perked up as her door opened. Looking across the hall, Gina laid on her back, spread her legs and stared at the ceiling. "What are you going to do to her?" she asked loudly.

"Same as you're getting. You want food? lay down and spread-em," Chas stated.

Julie glared at him. "He touches her, and I will beat the both of you bloody!" she snapped.

Chas dropped her tray on the floor. "Yeah, how about you go ahead and try that? I'm gonna love uglying up your face."

Ron was dropping his pants. Julie yelled, "Don't you DARE!"

"Shut up!" Chas growled and grabbed her by the neck. Julie did the last thing he expected.

Her right arm came around in a hard roundhouse punch, connecting with Chas' cheek. The man's head snapped back, he fell to the floor, out cold. Jumping up, Julie ran through the open cell doors and was on Ron before he realized what was happening. She grabbed him from behind and threw him into the wall. Upon impact, he stumbled and turned to face her. Julie charged and rammed a knee up into his groin so hard he lifted off the floor.

"You. Frackin. Scum!" Julie yelled, kneeing him again with each word. She dragged him, curled up and puking into the hallway and left him. Looking back at Gina who was watching her, she asked, "Are you OK?"

"Yes," Gina said meekly.

Julie shut her cell door, then went into her own cell and dragged Chas out. He let out a moan, starting to wake up, so she punched his bruised cheek with another hard punch. She felt a crack this time when she connected. She dragged him over to drop him in Ron's puke, then went back into her cell and shut the door.

Going over to her tray that had splattered some food on the floor where it dropped, Julie turned to Gina and said, "Now we can eat in peace." Going over to the ankle chain on the floor, she held it up and asked, "Want some?"

.

In the spirit of cooperation, which was strained, Adama and Cain began integrating crew members. Since Baltar was the 'cylon' expert, he was called to interrogate the Six Cain had prisoner. Lee Adama was to be Cain's new CAG. Since Lee was the new CAG, he got the download of discipline problems. Right away, he got a surprise.

On the list was a pending court martial. Lt. Colin was accused of killing two men who'd been guarding her. Two questions immediately came to mind. The obvious was why one of his marines would kill fellow colonials. The other was why did Lt. Colin need guarding in the first place.

Going down to the cells where Colin and a cylon were being kept, Lee went in with two guards armed with rifles and sporting hand grenades. The incident report stated two guards had been found dead, one with a broken cheek and neck, the other with a broken pelvis who had his pants down. The cell doors had been found shut. Neither prisoner refused to answer any questions about the dead men.

Lee was shocked at the appalling conditions in these cells. The female cylon had nothing in the cell except the chain that bound her to the floor. Lt. Colin was in a similar white shift, with a single cot and an exposed toilet. The door to Colin's cell had a metal bar woven through the bars that continued into the barred wall. There was no way to open that door.

"Why is this here," Lee asked the guards as he pointed to the bar woven into the cell bars.

"We don't know, Sir, but it's just as well to make sure she can't get out."

"It's so YOU perverts can't get in," Julie stated.

Lee looked at her sitting on her cot. He noticed the head rail on her cot was missing. Right, it was woven into the bars to keep the door shut. "Lt. Colin, did you do this?" he asked firmly.

"I did, Captain. It keeps the perverts out," she said flatly.

"Explain yourself, Lt," Lee said firmly.

Julie got up and walked over to him. She bore hand and ankle cuffs, but nothing connected them. "NO Sir!" she snapped. "YOU explain yourself! Why was I brought here, stripped of my clothes and thrown into a cell? I have done nothing! On top of being held for no reason, two men attempted to rape me and now I understand my execution is being planned."

"You deserve to die," One guard sneered at her.

Julie eyed him. "What was the name of this pirate ship again?" she asked.

"Stop it!" Lee barked at the guard. "Until a trial is held, nothing is going to happen." Snapping his head back to Lt. Colin he said in a hard tone, "Those two men who died down here in the hallway, what happened to them?"

Julie shrugged and said, "Sorry, I was sleeping."

"You killed them!" the other guard stated.

"Wow, I must be good," Julie said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I unlocked my cell door, killed two men then locked myself back in. Don't you realize how stupid that sounds?"

"I just want to know the truth," Lee said.

"I just want a bit of justice, I have done nothing to deserve to be treated like this!" Julie retorted.

Lee indicated the cuff-bracelets Juile was wearing. "What happened to the binding bar and chain that was tying those cuffs together?"

"I got hungry and ate them," she stated.

Becoming irritated, Lee said, "I want a real answer."

"I just gave you one."

"Damn it, Colin, I can't help you if you do not cooperate!" Lee snapped.

"Help me? how?" Julie asked. "Are you going to get me out of here? Are you really going to look into what the guards here do? I have done nothing but defend myself!" she went on, her voice raising, "And if I wasn't thrown in here for NO REASON to begin with, then there would be no problem, and if one of these guys is brave enough to attempt it, I WILL show them that I WILL NOT BE RAPED!" she ended in a scream.

Lee understood. Those men had tried to rape her. Lt. Colin was turning into a super-strong cyborg, and had defended herself. One man punched so hard he died. The other suffered mass trauma to his groin and a broken pelvis when his pants were down, causing him to die from internal bleeding and shock. "I see." he said calmly. She had killed them trying to get them off her. "You shut your own cell door after you dragged them out," he said softer.

"Prove it," Julie said crisply.

Lee turned and left. He had to talk to his father to tell him what was going on here. He also found out that Athena in the Galactica brig had been assaulted by a pair of men from Pegasus, and Helo and Galen Tryol were under arrest for another man's murder. The situation with Cain and her crew was quickly getting out of hand.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch 8

After they were left alone in their cells, Gina moved up to the front of her cell. "Thank you," she called.

Julie got up from her cot and wandered over to face her. She shrugged and said, "I just hate perverts."

"Why didn't you escape when you had the chance?" Gina asked. "Both guards were down, their guns were right there. You had plenty of chance to get away."

Julie cast a glance toward the hatch that led to the guard post. "Where would I go?" she asked. "If John were here to escape with me, I'd go with him. Right now, who would help me?"

"You like this John? Please tell me about him," Gina coaxed.

Leaning on the bars, Julie cracked a smile. "John is ... John. He can wipe out a dozen centurions in a face to face brawl, but worries if I even get a headache. He really doesn't like us colonials, but he got rid of gangsters bothering people down in the holds and then passed out food for the people down there. He doesn't like cylons either, but made sure Victoria was safe. I swear he did everything possible to get Adama and Roslyn angry, but went with us to rescue prisoners on Caprica." Julie then let out a giggle and said, "He got the XO so mad, the XO punched him and hurt his hand. John chided him for it. I forget what John said, something about a smooth move. It was funny, the XO got even madder, but didn't dare try to hit him again."

"What is John? You said he doesn't like humans or cylons," Gina said, watching Julie closely.

"John is from another planet. He is what's called a cyborg," Julie explained. "He looks human on the outside, but he's not. Think of a tank with a human frame. His bones and much of him is made of an organic metal. Bullets just bounce off him. He's very strong too." Julie's face softened as she gazed of at nothing. "He can make his own musical instruments and play them. He sang me a song, it wasn't some squishy thing, it was really inspirational."

"Really? Can I hear it?' Gina asked.

"I don't sing good, but if your ears can take it, sure."

Gina listened to Julie sing 'If you're going through Hell'. She could tell whoever made it, in this case, John, had been through some tough spots. It did give her some strength and hope. She also realized that the 'angel' to help her back on her feet might well be standing in the cell across the hallway.

After she sang the song, Julie looked at her hands, flexing her fingers. "John changed me." With an insane giggle, she said "I can eat metal now. Not just swallow it, I digest it. He gave me the ability to heal quickly by myself, to be stronger and faster. Maybe some day, I'll be like him."

"It is not possible for a human digest metal," Gina said.

"Right. That means I'm not human anymore," Julie agreed. "I'm not human, not cylon, I'm something else. I think I'm turning into a cyborg like John is."

The hallway hatch opened. A guard stepped in, followed by Baltar. The guard looked at Gina and said, "You have a visitor, step back."

Gina did. Before the guard opened Gina's cell door, Julie barked, "Baltar!"

Baltar spun to look at her. "Lt. Colin?" he asked.

"That's me," Julie said firmly. "So you know, if you touch her I will come over there, rip your balls off and feed them to you."

"Shut up, Cylon!" the guard snapped, and raised his gun at her.

"Oh? You're going to shoot an unarmed prisoner in her cell?" Julie asked. "What was the name of this pirate ship again?"

The guard looked back at Gina to see where she was, then told Julie, "You will be quiet or else!"

"Lt. Colin, why are you here?" Baltar asked.

"Cain thinks I'm a cylon. You KNOW I'm not. Neither was John," Julie stated.

Baltar cast her a scared looking stare. What Julie and the guard didn't see but Baltar did, was his 'ghost' Six by his shoulder saying, "She is becoming one of these cyborgs. Be very careful Gaius, those bars are only stopping her because she allows it. She is capable of killing that guard and you before you can reach the hatch."

"Not another word out of you! Get back!" the guard spat at Julie.

Julie glared at him. "Or what?" she challenged.

"Excuse me!" Baltar said quickly. "Sir? It is best you just ignore her, trust me on this." To Julie he said, "I have no intention of doing the prisoner any harm. I just need to talk to her."

"I'll be watching," Julie told him.

The guard let out a snort. "What are you going to do?" he asked sarcastically.

The guard had his gun pointed at Julie just on the other side of the bars. Shooting a hand out, she grabbed the barrel and pulled it to her, stepping to the side. She then grabbed a bar for support and hauled hard and bent the barrel around the bar. The rifle on the other side of the bars was forced against the outside of the bars, as was the guard. A piece of fore stock broke off as Julie pushed hard to bent the muzzle out between the bars, then down to lock the rifle woven in the bars. To the guard desperately pulling on his rifle to free it, she said, "Go ahead, pull the trigger, I dare you."

The shocked guard tried to pull the gun back through. Casting her a wide-eyed look, he tried to sound firm in his quaking voice as he said, "Give it back!"

"Get it out yourself," she replied, and walked to the side to keep her view of Baltar and Gina. She watched them as the guard struggled to free his rifle.

"You came to visit, so, visit," Julie told Baltar.

.

John was feeling irritated. Sitting in the pilot's seat of the raptor as they searched for a planet to land on, he knew not finding one was not the reason for his irritation. His nanites were active, like they were looking for something to heal. The bullet wounds he'd gotten were already healed. He pondered why they were still active now.

Part of what helped nanites work was the quantum 'joining' between nanites. Nanites in his feet were able to send signals instantaneously to ones in his hands due to this. When his mother was still alive, she knew when he was hurt due to it was her nanites he'd inherited. He had no children though. Thinking about it, he had given some of his nanites to Julie Colin. Apparently they had replicated and were still active. If his were reacting to Julie's nanites, then the nanites in Julie had to be frantic in their activity. That meant Julie was hurt.

"Damn, Julie, what did you get into?" he asked the console.

Jasper looked at him. "Who's Julie?" he asked.

"Julie Colin, a Colonial I shared my nanites with to heal her," John explained.

"Your girlfriend?"

"No. I could not stay, so I just helped her however I could while I was there," John told him.

"She's in trouble?"

"I believe so."

"Can we get there?" Jasper prodded.

"It won't be easy," John said in a musing tone. "The Colonials kicked me off their ship. I could track them through Julie's nanites, but getting on board is not going to be easy. Apparently she is developing her own nanites, but depending on the situation, I don't know if her nanites can keep her healthy. She is base human."

"We should try," Jasper stated.

John calculated and devised a plan. "I can determine a general direction. If we move to different points and triangulate their position and get fairly close, I can jump right next to their ship. Go EVA and find a hatch to enter through, then I can look for her."

"We can withstand vacuum, your plan is reasonable," Jasper said. "And we do have arms if needed."

"The bottom hatch is made for mating to other ships," John said. "That way we will retain air in case we need to take Julie off that ship."

.

A second guard came in as Baltar was talking to Gina quietly in her cell. He saw the now freed, ruined barrel of the rifle, and the brown haired cylon by the bars. "What happened?" he asked.

"She bend my rifle, and the fore stock is broke!" the first guard complained, pointing at Julie.

Ron and Chas had been his friends. This brown haired cylon bitch had killed them. "Go get another gun," he told his fellow guard.

"Stay back, she's frackin dangerous," the first guard said as he left.

His gun was loosely aimed at the cylon anyway. The second guard released the safety and pulled the trigger. The shot hit Julie in the chest at an angle. Hitting her breastbone that was now partially metal, the bullet cracked the bone, but skidded up to the top of her chest where it ran out of energy. She flew back and hit the floor. "Opps, misfire," he said with a grin. "She's not dangerous any more."

Both Baltar and Gina stood up in surprise at the gunshot. "What happened?" Baltar asked in a high pitched voice.

"Had a misfire. Too bad she was in the way," he stated with a grin.

"You murdered her!" Baltar stated loudly.

"Hey!" the guard barked. Turning to face Baltar, he said, "It was an accident, got that? There's one less cylon. Big frackin deal."

Baltar and Gina watched as Julie rolled over onto her hands and knees and got up. Their jaws dropped in looks of shock.

"It's not possible to murder a cylon, got me?" the guard stated heavily.

Her face etched in rage, Julie shot her arm through the bars, grabbed the guard by the back of his collar and slammed him backwards into the bars. She reached out and grabbed him around the throat with the other hand. "I should rip your fracking head off!" she growled. The shocked guard dropped his rifle and grabbed at her wrist.

"No!" Baltar cried. "Please, don't kill him!"

"Why not? He had no problem trying to kill me," Julie said. Despite the guard trying to break her grip, she tightened down a little more. "Which will it be, asshole, do you want to die slow or fast?" she asked.

"Lt. Colin, NO!" Baltar cried. He tried to open the cell door. It was locked shut. Frantic, he cried, "Please stop, you're not like this! You are not a murderer!"

Pulling the guards head so his reddening face was pressed against the bars, Julie looked into his tearing eyes and growled, "Shoot me again, and I WILL rip your frackin head off." She then let him go.

The guard recoiled away from her and fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for breath. As soon as he got some breath back, he got up and ran out.

"Hey, let me out!" Baltar cried at the fleeing guard. The hallway hatch shut.

Julie pulled the 'safety bar' out of her cell door and opened it. She unlocked Gina's cell to let Baltar out. Baltar stood in place, staring at her. Not wanting him to take forever, Julie grabbed him by his shirt and hauled him out of the cell and shut the door behind him. "You saw what he did, right?" Julie asked heavily.

"Yes ... yes," Baltar stuttered.

"You will go inform Adama what you saw. I will give Adama time to rein in these criminals. If he does not, I will solve the problem. Got that?" She spat.

"Yes .. yes," Baltar said, nodding quickly.

"Get going," Julie told him and gave him a shove. Baltar stumbled and ran for the hatch. Julie got back in her cell and put the crossbars back in place.

Gina looked at Julie in shock. "You didn't die ... Why aren't you escaping? You even had a hostage!"

Julie looked down at the bloody spot on her shift that had a hole in the middle and said, "I'm leaking. Not much though. It should stop in a minute." Looking up at Gina, she said, "I told you why I didn't escape before." She then rubbed her chest lightly and grumbled, "This frackin hurts!"

.

While Baltar went searching for Lee Adama, Lee Adama was in Cain's Ready room with her. He laid out the facts of what he found.

"Admiral, I investigated the deaths of those two marines. They went into Lt. Colin's cell and tried to rape her. She broke her restraints and kneed one in the groin, and punched the other one. Due to her strength, both died. She did kill them defending herself. I am dropping the murder charges."

"No, you will not," Cain stated. "Those men are dead, she did it. What you will do is escort her to the nearest air lock, put her in and flush her."

Lee stared at Cain, opened mouthed. "Admiral, it was self defense, not murder. Those men were going to rape her," he said firmly.

Cain sat up and eyed him. "Are you refusing to follow orders, Captain?" she asked in a dangerous tone.

"Admiral, you need to reconsider what you are ordering," Lee said firmly.

The door burst open. The Gunny and Baltar came in.

"Sorry for the intrusion, Admiral!" The gunny said with a salute. "We've had another incident in the holding cells. Doctor Baltar here is a witness."

The comms announced, "Admiral, Starbuck has located the resurrection ship. Commander Adama is ready to launch the joint strike."

Cain slapped her hand down on the comm. "Very well. We will have a briefing in the tactical control room ASAP." Getting up, Cain said, "Come Captain, we have more important things to do. Gunny, flush that cylon." She then strode out. A frustrated Lee went with her.

.

Three jumps and John had the coordinates and vector. He did a fourth jump to get closer and verify the coordinates. Knowing the size of these battlestars, but not knowing it's orientation, he picked a spot three fourths of the body length from the point Julie was at to jump to. Only half a light year away at this point, he was fairly sure he would not jump into it. He jumped.

They came back into space to find a giant wall in front of them and coming at them. John hit the back thrusters to avoid hitting the mass of ship. Around them, small ships were leaving the big ship. He saw the Galactica to one side, but this one was where he felt Julie was.

"Fine me a hatch," he said. Focusing on Julie, or rather the nanites, he bumped the ship with thrust to move along what had to be the bottom of the huge ship.

"Twenty degrees Left," Jasper said and pointed.

"Yes, that is close," John agreed and moved over to the air lock hatch. The opening was too big to mate to.

Jasper pointed and said, "I see external controls. We can fit this ship in there. I'll go out and open the door, then help you back this thing in."

"Thanks," John said, "Depressurizing."

When the air pressure dropped to only a pound, John cracked the hatch open to dump the rest of the air. Jasper got a personal thruster and stepped out. He got the ship's hatch open then moved out to help John maneuver the raptor into place. Jasper came in and shut the hatch. Going over to the interior controls, he pressurized the air lock and opened the inner door.

Wearing the Pegasus flight uniforms complete with side arms they'd gotten from the Pegasus pilots, John and Jasper strode into the huge ship.

Julie was closer. John headed in the direction he felt he needed to go. Coming up a passageway, he saw a troop of Marines heading towards them. In between them was a heavy security door marked BRIG. John slowed, Julie was inside.

"Excuse me," the lead man of the troop said. "We got business with prisoners, you two can come back and play later."

"Play?" John asked.

"We have to flush one of the cylons, Admiral's orders." the man stated. "You'll still have the other one to get off on."

John and Jasper looked at each other. A quick eyeflash exchange and they realized what 'play' meant. They were doing that to Julie.

"What the ..." the Gunny never got a chance to finish his surprise at their eyes flashing colors. John's fist crashed into his face.

John and Jasper tore into the men. By the time the marines figured out they were being attacked, four were down, out on the floor. The next couple managed to get their hands on their guns before they were knocked out. The last two had their rifles up, but the muzzles were knocked aside, then they were knocked out.

John went to the brig door and flung it open. A single guard was in a small office. John punched him hard, driving him out of his seat to crumple to the floor. He didn't really care of the man was out or dead. He and Jasper then went into the holding area, a short hallway with cells on each side. Another guard was standing in the hallway. On the right a man was with a Victoria. On the left was Julie.

"John!" Julie cried and pulled a crossbar out of the door bars. She raced out and flung her arms around him. John held her as she wept in relief.

The guard eyed them. "Sir, they can't be out of their cells."

Seeing the guard had raised his rifle, Jasper took the gun away from him saying, "You might want to give that to me before you get hurt."

The guard stared at him.

"J..John Connor?" Baltar asked.

John turned to look at him and Gina. "They put you both together in a cell?" John asked.

"Baltar's a pervert," Julie stated.

John opened the cell door and said, "Both of you, out." Baltar left. Gina showed him her chains. John went in, broke her cuffs off and nodded at the door. "Git."

Gina left the cell and stood in the hallway watching John return to Julie's side. Jasper guided the guard over into the cell and shut the door.

"Julie, anyone else down here?" John asked.

"I don't know."

Seeing a door at the other end, John said, "Let's check." He went through to find Helo and the cylon mechanic in a cell. "Hey! You guys staying or leaving?" he asked.

Helo asked, "John? How'd you get here?"

John replied, "Stealth and knocking people out. You coming or staying? I don't have all day."

"We should wait for Commander Adama," Helo said. "Did you come just to get us out of the brig?"

"I came to get Julie Colin out. She's leaving with me. You can come or not," John told them.

"We'll stay," Helo said. The cylon mechanic cast him a 'are you crazy' look.

"Fine. Tell your leadership if they can't show Julie any respect, they don't deserve to have her around." John told him, then walked back through where Jasper, Julie, Baltar and the Six were waiting. Walking up to the group he said, "We're leaving, come if you want, stay if you want."

"I'm coming!" Julie said firmly and clasped his hand.

John cast her a smile and said, "Yes, you are." he then looked at Baltar and the ragged Six. "How about you two?"

Baltar shook his head and ran out. Gina straightened herself and said, "There is something I need to do first."

"How long will it take?" John asked.

"I can't give you a time," Gina said honestly.

John regarded her briefly, then said, "You got ten minutes. If you're here before then, you can come. If not, good luck to you."

Gina nodded and left at a run.

"You can't let her loose on the ship!" the guard in the cell cried.

John eyed him and said, "Too late." He left holding Julie's hand. Jasper followed. They shut the hatch and locked it.

.

Gina ran out to find unconscious marines filling the hallway outside the brig. She grabbed a pistol and ran as fast as she could straight up to the command deck to Cain's ready room. Stepping quietly in, she saw Cain get up from her desk. Their eyes locked. Gina quickly brought her pistol up and shot. Even as blood and brain matter splattered on the wall from Cain's head, she was running back though the ship to get back to the brig before this John left.

.

John and Jasper collected all the guns and piled them into an empty cell, then locked the door. It was a good use of time while they waited. The ten minute mark came. John listened, he didn't see or hear anyone coming. "Let's go." He clasped Julie's hand as they walked back to the air lock. "Who shot you?" he asked.

Julie scowled at nothing and said, "The Admiral is running a pirate ship. They took me off Galactica, took my clothes and threw me in a cell. They raped Gina and tried to rape me, then I was shot! John, I just want to come and be with you. Even if you are only riding a frame through the universe."

"I can honestly say I can't leave you here. I kinda like you being with me too," he told her.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Wait for me!" Gina cried.

John turned to see the cylon running fast to catch up.

Julie tugged in John's hand and said, "John, she's been abused badly here. Cylons aren't my friends, but what they did to her is inexcusable."

John nodded. "Let's go!" he called back to Gina.

.

The mission to destroy the resurrection ship was a success. News that was just as good was Admiral Cain had been assassinated by some unknown person. Since the fleet now had two Battlestars, they needed a new Admiral. Roslyn appointed Commander Adama as the new Admiral. In turn, he appointed his son Lee as the Commander of Pegasus.

In the now Admiral Adama's ready room, the new Admiral gave Lee his Commander's insignia. "You're promoted to Commander, son. Take good care of Pegasus."

Lee took the Insignia and put them on. "I will, Admiral."

"Any idea who assassinated Cain?"

Lee cleared his throat. "When we got back, I found another incident happened in the brig while we were out. Cain had ordered Lt. Colin air locked. The team that was to do it was found outside the brig, unconscious. Colin and the cylon were both gone. I heard from Baltar and from Helo and Chief Tyrol that John Conner had come and busted them out of the brig. Connor said he was taking Colin with him."

"John Connor, huh?" Admiral Adama said in a grunt. "How did he get on the ship?"

Lee shrugged. "No one knows. The men he cold cocked by the brig said there were two men who moved very fast. This was right about the time Cain was killed. My suspicion? Knowing how Connor hates violent people, he may have well killed Cain. I have no proof of that, however."

With another grunt, Admiral Adama said, "He did us a favor."

.

Jumping back to the other raptor ship, John called Victoria. "John Connor here. We succeeded. How are things over there?"

"We're trying to keep the raptors occupied and not destroy anything. The two Pegasus pilots are scared to death of them, and Eleanor is standing against the hatch controls so the raptors can't open the door to get out. John, we NEED to find a planet and soon!"

John laughed. "We will do our best," he told her. To Jasper, he said, "They are having raptor troubles."

"The ship?" Julie asked.

"No, the animal," John explained. "A real raptor is a predator, right now three and a half feet high, seven long. They have a long mouth full of sharp teeth, large powerful rear legs they stand on that have big claws and shorter, smaller forearms also with big claws. The biggest one I've seen is seven feet tall, sixteen feet long. They are covered in a mottled green feather pattern. In the wild, if they don't move they are hard to see."

Julie frowned at him and asked, "What is something like THAT doing on a space ship?"

John shrugged and said, "They wanted to come."

"They?"

John nodded and said, "All three of them." To Jasper he said, "The raptors are getting restless. We need to find a planet as soon as possible before they start eating our prisoners."

With the antenna, Victoria did pick up a signal. They jumped to the location to find an unstable star. It did have a habitable planet in the system, but by the star's pulses and fluctuations, it was very possible it would go super-nova soon.

Betting on the star would last for a week or so before exploding, John had them go down on a heavily forested world. Following the signal, they found a structure.

"John, I decoded that signal, it's an old-Earth beacon. We're talking pre-Judgment Day tech," Jasper told him.

"Is that possible?" John asked. "There was no serious space flight back then. Just orbiting labs and research stations."

Jasper shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. All I know is we need to get those raptors out and running around before we have an accident," he said.

"Right. See that tall grass? We'll set down there."

John set his ship down the same time Victoria set down. By the time John had unbuckled, a raptor raced by the front of the ship. He got up to open the hatch to have it open from the outside. When it opened, the raptor stuck it's head and neck in, flapped it's arms and make loud hooting sounds, then turned and raced away.

Gina screamed and cowered from it. Julie got behind John, holding him in front of her during the raptor's display.

"What was THAT?" Gina cried.

"One happy raptor," John said and got out.

This planet was full of life, and the raptors were full of energy, getting to run around. One raced by, jumped in the air to flap it's arms hard to fly for nearly 20 feet, hooting happily, before it hit the ground again to race on. Jasper laughed at it.

"Not bad," Julie said as she looked around. I could live here."

"Not for long," John told her. "The star here is fluctuating badly. It might be a week or a couple years, but it is going to explode. We do not want to be here when it does."

Eleanor came over to John and asked, "What do we do with the Pegasus guys?"

"The raptors didn't want to eat them?" Julie asked.

"Maybe they have better taste than that," Gina offered with a crooked grin.

A rabbit looking furry creature raced by, zig-zagging, a raptor chasing it. The raptor was keeping up with the quick turns and tearing up ground. The rabbit tried another tight turn and the raptor struck, clamping down with it's mouth, then stepped on it, ripping it in half. Julie winced at it's feeding method.

"We need to find water, and get a shelter build. We stay long enough to collect food then we have to leave." John told everyone. "See if we can trap some animals for our next trip, too."

"Victoria, let's go look for water," Eleanor said.

"I'm come too," Gina offered. Eleanor gave Gina her shoes. She then formed another set on her feet.

"How did you do that?" Victoria asked.

Eleanor cast her a quick smile. "I'm made of liquid metal. I can change my shape and color at any time. Pointing to the shoes she gave Gina she added, "I can even detach parts of myself."

"That's … impossible!" Victoria stated.

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. Holding out a hand she drew two fingers into a silver ball in her palm then tossed it in the air and caught it, then reformed her fingers. "Really?" she asked. Casting Gina a crooked grin, she said, "Feel lucky, I don't let many people walk on me." She then walked away.

"Who's helping me with the shelter?" Jasper asked. Greg and Derek volunteered.

"Help me look for edible plants?" John asked Julie.

Julie clasped his hand, "Let's go," she replied.

.

Walking along looking for a stream or body of water, the two cylon women followed Eleanor and talked.

"Veronica, I'm Gina. John found you in the holds of Galactica?"

Veronica smiled and said, "Yes. He saved me. John is a very pleasant man. He and the others are a joy to be around. What about you?"

Gina said, "He saved me too. Julie Colin, the brown haired female? She kept me from being raped again. I have the feeling God sent them to save us."

"Could be. John knows much about God. He said he even saw the Ten Commandments God gave to Earth. He lives by them," Victoria said firmly.

Gina gasped. "Earth was visited by God? We need to go there!"

"Nope," Eleanor said from the front. "No cylons or Colonials allowed until you all start behaving better. Sarah Connor said so."

"John's older sister rules Earth," Victoria explained.

"Is she a cy…. Berg too?"

"Cyborg, and yes, she is," Eleanor told them. Hearing water running to the right, Eleanor headed that way.

"So John is some kind of prince or noble then?" Gina asked.

"Nope. Sarah is the UEC President. She was elected," Eleanor explained. "Their father, John Connor Senior, was the General that stopped Skynet with my mother, Catherine Weaver's help." Eleanor told them about Skynet, the war between man and machines, then the coalition of human resistance and free machines that brought Skynet down.

"..Back then most machines were just slaves to Skynet. Mother and some others revolted and helped John Connor when they realized the Earth itself was being destroyed. John was good at reprogramming captured machines and giving them free will. His wife, John and Sarah's mother, Cameron, was freed by him. She was the first to have a cyborg baby. My father, James Ellison, was human as well. Once Skynet was gone, we have all been working on repairing the damage and doing our best to get rid of the radiation from all the bombs. Life is returning to Earth, but we still need more room for people to grow up healthy. That is why we're out here. We are looking for a suitable planet to colonize."

"Earth had a human / machine war also?" Gina asked.

"We did, and unlike you, we had no space ships to go anywhere else. We HAD to deal with what Skynet had done," Eleanor told them. The sound of flowing water was stronger. Eleanor walked over to a good sized running stream. Running down a gentle slope, the stream had pools here and there and plenty of flow. Yes, this would do nicely.

"You learned to live together," Gina said.

Eleanor turned to her fast enough to make her red hair fly out. "The Commandment not to kill is followed closely now. It seems your people have disregarded it completely, as have the colonials. That is one reason we won't ever let you know where Earth is."

Gina's jaw dropped. "But … to have a place where God is revered … to live a life of peace…"

"Will not be ruined by your kind. You will get nowhere near it unless you change," Eleanor stated. "I have to go tell John we found water."

"They are serious about that," Victoria told Gina. "John is a nice man and also very firm in his beliefs."

.

John and Julie walked along, gathering fruits and vegetables they found. John taste tested everything to ensure it was edible and had no toxins that could harm the humans or cylons. Julie had a wonderful day walking along with John. His shoes he gave her were a bit big, but protected her feet.

"So, you do like me?" Julie asked as they gathered food.

"I do," John said and offered her a smile. "I restrained myself because I thought I'd be going, and you would stay on Galactica. I didn't want to break your heart … that was, if you were becoming attached to me."

"Thank you for that," Julie replied. "You know, since I'm becoming a cyborg myself, I plan to stay with you."

John smiled and said, "Good! You are intelligent, brave and pretty. I consider myself very lucky."

"So do I," Julie beamed at him." In a more serious tone, Julie said, 'You saved me. When no one else would listen or seemed to care that I, and Gina, were being treated horribly by my own people, you came and saved us. I can never thank you enough for that."

"You are, just by being with me," he assured her.

Gazing at each other, they came together in a tentative kiss. The kiss became deeper. They dropped their collection of food and wrapped their arms around each other. Having to break the kiss to get some air, Julie took a deep breath and plunged back into another kiss. Holding each other turned into stroking and petting. Lowering themselves down on the ground they had to break the wondrous kiss again.

"Sex?" Julie asked breathlessly.

"Much petting and exploring first," John told her with a wide grin, then kissed her as he began to do so.

Julie was so happy she wanted to cry.

.

With a decently large stream nearby, They moved their camp close to it at one of the small ponds where there was flat ground. With trees everywhere, they built a log cabin shelter in a day, complete with a stone fireplace. That night, they all slept in the large one-room cabin. The raptors brought in a few more carcasses for them to cook. Even the Pegasus men had meat in their stew. To keep them from trying to escape in a ship, someone was on watch at the ships parked nearby at all times.

In the night, John laid with Julie as she slept curled up next to him in the spoon. Gina, like Victoria, learned what it was like snuggled up with a raptor. Still not used to the beasts, she slept lightly at first. Eventually the sense of feeling safe from abuse let her fall into the best deep sleep she'd had in a long time.

During the night, the Pegasus men slipped off by themselves. No one cared.

.

Although it was tempting to have some fun hunting with the raptors, swimming in the pond and just enjoying themselves, John knew they had to make modifications to the ships before they left again, and time to do so was limited. When this star went supernova, it was going to consume every planet in the system rapidly.

Besides the small forge and welding unit, they salvaged enough hand tools to work with. John and Derek built a baking oven from rock, and this time they had plenty of wood to heat it. Finding the ground had clay in it, Julie went on a clay gathering trip with Eleanor so they could make and bake toilets, sinks and water bowls. Eleanor made herself into the shapes they needed, Julie packed the clay on, they helped Eleanor into the oven to bake the clay.

Japer and Greg had fun hunting with the raptors, and game, although smaller, was plentiful. Once they had enough for dinner and to fill the raptor's stomachs, they used the fireplace in the cabin to jerky the extra meat for another trip through the stars.

The two cylons, Veronica and Gina, gathered vegetables for the meals, and cooked. Out on a gathering trip, Gina let out a sigh. "This is a wonderful planet. To think it's going to be destroyed is a real shame," she said with a sigh.

"It is very nice," Veronica agreed. "I hope we can find another one just as good." Cracking a grin, she added, "Maybe I can even coax Julie into sharing John with me."

Gina winced at her and asked, "Do you think John will take us back to a cylon ship?"

"God, I hope not," Veronica said.

Gina eyed her. "You don't want to go home?"

"I am home," Veronica told her. "John and his people make me feel safe. They are good company and I have never heard anything negative from any of them. I'm going to stay as long as John lets me."

"What about all our sisters? About the collective?" Gina asked.

Victoria shook her head. "And the war?" she asked. "Gina, after being with John, I don't want to go back to that. I love the fact we don't have to fight or kill. I really like watching the raptors and, although this may seen strange, when they are sleeping nearby I feel safe. I know between them and John's people, nothing is going to happen to me." Glancing at Gina she added, "I also know if I go back, Cavil will pump me for information then send me out on another mission, most likely to help come ruin what John's doing."

"You're going to give up our people for … a man?" Gina asked.

"No, not just a man. For a man and his way of life. Gina, they live the life we have been trying to make! Wasn't the point of getting rid of the humans to have a home where we don't have to be afraid? Wasn't the whole concept of this war to ensure we can enjoy life without worries? Don't you see? This is it! This, right here with John and his people is what we have tried and failed to achieve!" Victoria stressed.

"But, what if the humans regroup and attack us again?" Gina asked.

"I've seen what John can do. If the humans try to attack, they will be very sorry. They know this too, John was on Galactica for a while. They would be fools to come after us."

"I think we should go home," Gina stated. "You are right that John's people believe in God, and his kind are decent, all but cylons themselves. Don't you think we should tell everyone about them?"

"No. I got the feeling Cavil would somehow ruin it. Besides, John is never going to tell us where Earth is," Victoria told her.

Gina asked, "Isn't Earth where our brethren are?"

"Our brethren don't trust us," Victoria stated. "John is right when he says we are as warlike as the humans. Look what we did to them! We SAY we follow God, but we don't follow God's commandments. Maybe that is why John is here, to teach us how to truly follow God. Even though his mission is to find habitable planets, maybe he has a bigger mission that is being driven by God. If he does, I want to help."

In a serious tone, Gina said, "I have to go back. Our people need to know about John and Earth."

.

They weren't looking for it, but on a hunt Jasper came across what looked like an old temple. Everything here was covered in green, be it moss, algae, grass, or stemmed plants. Going to the opening, he looked in. On the door was the outline of a hand. It was a palm reader disguised to look like stone.

"Hey, Greg, over here!" he called. Studying the door, he noted it looked like an old security entrance that had been camouflaged.

Greg can trotting over. "What's up?"

"Look at this. Cylons or colonials haven't got out this far, have they? This is a security door. What's it doing here?" Jasper said.

Greg squatted down. Nearly flush with the door was a laser motion detector. "Old tech, but yeah, this looks familiar. We better not disturb it."

"We should tell John," Jasper stated.

A raptor ran up to them and looked at the door, then at them. It gave a soft hoot.

"Right, we're suppose to be hunting," Greg said with a grin.

Another raptor came over, then the third joined them, curious as to what they were doing.

"A couple more animals, then we go tell John." Jasper stated. They went back out to hunt down more animals to turn into jerky. They did need food for the trip.

.

Inspecting the ships they had, John came to a conclusion. Instead of two ships, one which was running low on fuel, they needed one bigger ship to allow the needed changes for traveling though deep space. As fast as possible. The ideal solution was to cut the middle out of the Galactica ship. Instead of another ECO console, they really needed a bathroom, storage and a place to cook food. The remains of the rest of it would be good to use modifying the Pegasus ship. The Pegasus ship also had a chain gun in case they needed it.

Jasper and Greg returned from their hunting trip and told him about the security door they found. That was interesting, but John had more important matters to deal with.

"Guys, we need to cut up that ship and use it to make this one bigger," John said. "We need the space for our growing group."

"We do," Jasper agreed. "That door we found has Earth tech. There could be something inside that might lead to Earth. We don' want colonials or cylons finding it."

John frowned and said, "No, we don't."

"We'll get started on the ships," Greg said. "John, let Jasper show you that door."

John agreed. Before he left, he gathered everyone and told them the plan. The cylon sisters had the task of moving the extra fuel tanks and the fuel from one ship to the other. After the fuel tanks on the Galactica ship were emptied and used to re-fill the external tanks on the ship they were keeping, the cyborgs were going to do the cutting and welding on the hulls. Julie was tasked with finishing the bathroom fixtures and getting them in place after their new ship was put together.

John didn't like walking off with so much work to be done, but Jasper and Greg were concerned about this door they found. He went with Jasper to go look at it. One of the raptors came with them.

John studied the door. The words above the door were improperly written, but indicate only people from Earth were allowed in. He put his hand over the hand glyph. The door opened.

"Let's go see," he told Jasper.

Inside, they found a large area with a galactic map on the wall with written directions from where someone started to where they went. The were other things in here as well, but John felt they didn't have time to go exploring. John looked at the map it closely and said, "This isn't a map to Earth, at least, our Earth."

"It's not even close," Jasper agreed. "Think that planet might still be habitable?"

"Only one way to find out. We'll check that planet out in our travels," John told him.

"Think someone will find this?"

"Who knows?" John said with a shrug. "By the instability of that star, if they don't find it soon, it won't be here any more. We need to get back and get to work."

On the way out, John had a sudden inspiration. He scrapped out a flat line on the wall. Above it, he drew the top half of a face with fingers and the nose poking down below the line. Seeing Jasper watching him, he said, "Something my Dad said he did when they raided a Skynet installation." He then wrote underneath in colonial script, 'John Connor was here.'


	9. Chapter 9

CH 9

The boxes of food rations the colonials gave them were brought out. Julie refilled water containers while her clay creations baked. It took a day to separate the Pegasus ship and move the rear half back., then another day to cut out what they needed from the Galactica ship. Once the new piece was mated, the cabling had to be reconnected, which took most of another day.

Thankfully, the raptors kept up their daily hunts, bringing back more extra food as if they knew what was coming. In another week, the new ship was taking shape and the bathroom, kitchen area and extra storage were being added in. Eleanor made a pair of leather shoes for Julie and Gina, and got the bits of herself back from Gina.

They also got visitors. The Pegasus men, looking ragged, came into camp, their hands up in surrender. They hadn't eaten for two weeks and were looking pretty sad. John told them they had a choice. Cooperate and they could come, or stay as they wished. As long as they helped out, they could stay in the camp. They agreed.

With the cabling and systems reconnected, the hull pieces were welded in place. A short flight to ensure the new ship was working correctly, and the last additions to it were made, then the supplies were brought on board.

Besides the tiny kitchen and bathroom, the back of the ship was redone to have swing down bunks as well as the raptor bed on the floor in the back.

The ship complete, John gathered everyone around the campfire outside the cabin after dinner. Julie sat by his side, Veronica took his other side. He looked at all their faces, and said, "We're leaving soon. The sun here is going to explode. It's not a question of if, but when. Myself and my team are leaving to look for stable, habitable planets. The rest of you, cylon and human, can come with us or stay here. If you stay, you will die with this planet. If you come with us, you will be under my command. Not prime choices for you, I agree, but that is your options. Take tonight and think about it. I want an answer from each of you in the morning."

"I stay with you," Veronica said firmly.

Behind him a raptor cooed.

"Will you leave us food?" Gina asked.

"A few boxes of the food Galactica gave me, as well as the animal traps and the fishing gear we made so you can continue to get your own," John told her.

"Pegasus will find us," the human pilot stated. The other human man nodded.

"You're not getting rid of me," Julie stated and elbowed him.

"No, I'm not," John replied and elbowed her back. They shard a smile.

"Gina, please come with us," Veronica asked.

Gina shook her head, saying, "I can't. If there is any chance to return to our people, I have to take it."

"Staying here is only a chance to die," Veronica said firmly.

"I will resurrect," Gina replied.

.

John stayed up that night. As he suspected, the two Pegasus men tried to steal their ship. Already on board, John knocked them out and dragged them back into the cabin and tied them up.

In the morning, John made sure their supplies were stored and everything was ready. After a good breakfast, he announced it was time to leave. Once everyone else was on the ship, he went in the cabin and untied the two men. "Good luck to you," he told them and left.

Outside by the ship, Veronica hugged Gina and wished her sister the best.

"Sure you want to stay here?" John asked Gina.

"I must," Gina stated. "Take care of my sister."

"I will. Good luck to you then," John said and got on board.

"To you too, John Connor," Gina replied.

John and Victoria waved, then John shut the hatch.

.

Gina watched the ship lift off and rise into the atmosphere.

"Now it's just us and the cylon," A voice said from behind her. Gina turned to see both men held sticks in one hand and a rock in the other. She bolted away from them to find her own weapons. They chased her.

.

In orbit, John no more than got their next coordinates when ships started to flash in from their jumps. He jumped out for their next destination. Thankfully, the raptors settled down in their bedding. Victoria was exhausted from trying to keep up with the cyborgs and cuddled in with them.

Above a new system, John send a message as they studied the planets in orbit.

'TOK 715B JC/ Still looking / crew of ten / five cyborgs / one human transforming to cyborg / one cylon / three raptor animals. 59903458/ 87563580/ 2306876'

.

Gina slowed. Once she'd gotten away from the camp area, the humans had stopped chasing her. She wasn't worried about them killing her, but lasting long enough in a fight to damage her, then take advantage of her. She was free of that cell, and did not want that to happen to her again. John and his people had taught her enough survival skills to stay alive here until help came. Walking along, she searched for a good place to set up her own camp away from those men.

Hearing engines above her, she looked up to see a heavy raider coming down. Letting out a cy of joy, she ran to where it was landing. She crashed through brush and fled straight at the ship that centurions were exiting from. Following the centurions out, she saw one of her sisters come out.

Her long exile was over. The group of bio-cylons stared as she approached. She ran right up and hugged her sister, crying with joy. "Thank GOD you came!" she wailed.

"How did you get here?" an Eight asked.

Gina wiped the happy tears from her eyes. "I was held aboard the Pegasus and treated very badly, but then Julie came and made them stop torturing me. Then John Connor came and got us out of there and brought me here!"

"John Connor? He's here?" a Cavil asked in surprise.

"You just missed him," Gina explained. "They left this morning."

"The ship that jumped out when we arrived," Cavil concluded.

"Yes! John Connor is not an enemy. He saved Veronica Six also," Gina said firmly. "He is … a man of God. We need to find him and tell him we want to live in peace!"

Cavil eyed her and asked, "What is it about this John Connor that has everyone he meets singing his praises? He's just a centurion wrapped in skin. Who is Julie?"

"No, he's much more than that." Gina insisted. "Julie is the human John is turning into another cyborg. Don't you see? If we can get him to trust us, we can all be enlightened and become cyborgs like him."

Cavil rolled his eyes. "Great, another one," he grumbled. "We're here to find the way to Earth. Go on and get a gun. We have work to do before the humans get here."

.

When Helo, Baltar, Chief Tyrol and Starbuck entered the temple, Starbuck noted the picture and words John had left. "You gotta be frackin kidding me!" she cried.

They also saw the galactic map, but could not read the directions.

.

While they looked for a system with a good planet, Julie tried to keep the raptors occupied. Eleanor had Julie sit with her and showed her how to play 'paddy cake'. This got the raptor's attention. Once Julie had it down, they both turned to the raptors. Going slow, they taught the raptors, who flapped their arms and hooted, happy to learn something new.

Six more systems and John got a message to check out one more. This planet turned out to be a little on the warm side with equatorial deserts, but was very green above the brown desert belts.

Flying through the atmosphere, John looked for a good place to land. Veronica studied the ground. "There is a herd of fur covered animals below us," she reported. "Ground animals, birds, all kinds of life down there."

"Anything that looks sentient?" Jasper asked.

"Not yet."

"I'm getting no electromagnetic traffic," Greg said from the ECO panel.

"No smoke or signs of buildings. I think we have a winner," John beamed. He saw a flat area beside a river below. A herd of bovine creatures grazing on the grass there bolted and ran as he approached. Not far away and closer to the water was a forest of large trees. "Looks like a good place to land," he said, and set down.

.

Once again, the raptors were the first out on the ground, running around the area. Planning on staying here a while, John got people moving to set up a camp, as well as a weather station. The yellow sun was dipping towards the horizon as they got to work. Julie and Eleanor went for water, Greg and Derek went to get some wood from the forest. John set up a communications station while Jasper looked for rocks to start the base of their first cabin with Veronica.

Jasper walked slowly along until he saw the tip of a rock sticking up out of the ground. "Ah, here we are," he said and knelt down to pull grass and dig dirt away from the edges.

Watching him, Victoria asked, "Why not just find one laying on the surface? Won't that be easier?"

Jasper motioned around him and said, "The grass covers them. Some dirt collects, the grass grows, dies, makes more dirt. Lay a stone down here, in a few years, it will be covered. We're going to have to dig them out." He pulled a small hand shovel and added, "Besides, if we dig them out now, planting crops will be much easier."

"We are staying here?"

"If this planet is as good as we think it is," Jasper agreed as he worked to get the tip of the rock fully exposed.

Jasper dug around the tip enough to get his hands under it. He hauled up hard. The ground in front of him raised up. This was a big stone. Veronica went over and helped as the stone rose up farther.

"Big one," Jasper said as he and Veronica pushed. The six foot long stone that was four wide and about that thick, rose to then fell to the side, leaving a hole in the ground.

Casting Veronica a smirk, he asked, "Carry that back for me?"

"If you get the back , I'll get the front," she said flatly.

Jasper laughed. In a more serious tone, he said, "We'll leave it here for now. We'll come back and cut it up later."

Looking at the torn up grass, Veronica said, "The roots of this grass are thick and deep."

"They are," Jasper agreed. He then pointed and said, "Yes! Forget the stone or wooden walls. Pioneers in western North America used sod to build their homes. When it's dried the sod, root and dirt mix, is very tough and it insulates well. Cut into blocks, it's a good building material. "Come on let's start making a house."

Jasper's idea worked. Veronica used a long knife to cut the grass in a foot wide path where Jasper indicated. He cut blocks of sod to put them at the corners of where the long house was going to be. While Veronica cut a straight line between the blocks, Jasper went behind her and used a shovel to cut out foot wide blocks two feet long then pry them up and out to flip them over just outside the shallow trench he was making.

Eleanor and Julie returned and helped clear the squared area Jasper had started. Taking the sod blocks over to build up the outside walls.

They had a good start of their house. That night, John sent a message that they had found a suitable planet. He also sent a caution that colonials and cylons were in the area, only 10 light years away.

.

Being led down the hallway by his arms, a pair of marines bracketing him, Reverend John complained, "I'm not a cylon. Why do think I am a cylon?"

He was then led into the holding cell area where one of his brother sat in a cell.

"Oh."

"Hello, brother," the Cavil sitting in his cell said.

"Hello. Why are you here?" the reverend said as he was put in his cell.

"I came to offer the humans an exchange. We stop chasing them if they will let us have this world we're orbiting."

"We are not going to allow you to have that temple on the algae world," Adama said firmly.

"Brother, we should stop chasing them," Reverend Cavil stated. "Humans can't help us anyway. We need to find John Connor and his people."

"I agree, Brother. So far, he's been everywhere, and nowhere." Looking at Adama, the Cavil asked, "Am I right? We found a Six down on the planet that he left here. She was eager to tell us all about him! She truly believes he has the answers to all our problems."

"So Connor is not one of yours?" Adama asked heavily.

"No!" Cavil cried. "Look, I think we've all had enough of this war. We got what we wanted, control of the colonies. Tell you what. You want that planet below, fine! We just need access to that temple."

"Why do you want it so bad?" Adama asked.

"Inside is the way to out brethren," Cavil stated.

"You mean the way to Earth," Roslyn said heavily.

In the back of the pack, Starbuck said, "John Connor beat us all to it. Yes, the way is shown, but how do we know he didn't modify it so we head off in the wrong direction?"

"John Connor does not want any of us to know the way," Reverend Cavil stated. "He may indeed have changed what is there."

Over the intercom, a voice said, "Admiral! The star's pulses are quickly strengthening. By the readings we're getting, that star is going super-nova!"

Admiral Adama replied, "How long?"

"It's building now sir!"

Adama frowned at the Cavils, and said, "Recall everyone. A soon as they are back on board, Jump the ship!"

"He did it," Reverend Cavil said firmly. "I don't know how but John Connor came here and somehow made that star explode to keep that temple away from all of us."

"That's impossible, brother."

"Who else doesn't want Earth to be found?" Reverend Cavil asked. "We want to find it, and so do the colonials. You tell me why that star is going nova at the same time we got here."

The overhead announced, "The ship will Jump in thirty seconds."

"What? I'm stuck here?" the other Cavil asked.

"Looks like it," Adama said.

Cavil stood up, motioned to reverend Cavil and said, "Then shoot us."

"So you can resurrect?" Adama asked. He shook his head.

"Come on, we came here in good faith!" Cavil complained. "We wanted to negotiate, try to work out some differences! The least you can do is let us go back to our own kind! What good will holding us do?"

"My brother is right. You can let out some aggression and we get to go home," Reverend Cavil said. He then added with a grin, "That is unless Starbuck there wants to share my cell with me tonight." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Starbuck pulled her pistol and shot him in the head.

"That's the spirit!" Cavil said happily. "Come on, meat sack, give it to me baby!"

Starbuck shot him in the head.

Adama looked at the bodies and turned to Starbuck and grumbled, "You just played into their hands."

The ship jumped.

.

John found this planet was all but perfect. The water and air was pure, the temperature was good and the food was plentiful. By the end of their first week here, they had their large house up. Right now the sod house had a dirt floor that was sunk down a foot below ground level under a beam and board wooden roof . It was large enough to fit all of them comfortably. The wood stove with the metal chimney they used for heat and cooking was in the center of the single large room. There was still no door, just a blanket over the entrance.

During a hunting trip with Greg and the raptors, John found that the hills nearby had a good clay soil. Great for making basic plumbing. Once they got the large, horned bovine they killed dragged back to camp, they retuned with shovels and buckets to collect the clay to make pottery and pipes.

They also received another party of cyborgs. John got the message they had landed and were on their way. This time it was six cyborgs with more metal, wire, a power supply and weapons, due to colonials and cylons being in the area.

While the new group was making their way to John's camp, The 1400 pound bull they had downed provide bones for tools and leather for clothing. The raptors were growing as was their camp. They were just over four feet tall in their normal gait. As well as hunting now, they also helped with the building efforts. They were learning their fore claws were good for more than just grabbing prey. Jasper showed the male with the orange on his chest how to grip smaller diameter objects using his 'thumb' to hold tool handles. The raptorl was a bit clumsy, but got the idea. Jasper even showed him how to shake hands. The raptor hooted happily, learning new things.

Although speech was seemed beyond him, the raptor did try hard.

The ship was used to haul rock up from the riverbed below. Derek built a small water pressure cutter and cut the stone into thin blocks to use as a base flooring in the house. A trench and pit was dug for a real sewer system. The house came together more with wooden walls on the inside and rooms were built.

Outside the house, a workshop half the size of the house was made to help handle the projects being built. It even had an oven for baking the clay as well as the forge and welder. The forest thinned as trees were cut to supply wood for heat and construction projects. The fifteen foot steep banks of the river now had a stone stairway going down to the water. The rocky shore had been harvested of large rocks. Sediment was filling in the void, making a beach.

.

John was in the trench, laying more clay pipe down when Julie ran up. "John, they're coming!" she called.

John got up out of the trench and followed her. Others had stopped work to watch a blocky vehicle approach. The square metal vehicle that sat on tracks rolled thought the grassy plain towards them. John was surprised at the size of that thing. A pair of heads were above the front that was shaped like the prow of a boat.

Seeing this thing coming, all three raptors stood behind John and Julie. John cooed to them to indicate there was nothing to worry about. The vehicle rolled up to them and stopped.

A cyborg female with long dark hair got off first, jumping down off the side.

John walked over to her. "I'm John Connor. How you get that thing through a PDE?"

"I'm Jasmine Cooper," the woman replied. "We brought it in pieces and put it together after we arrived. The engine burns hydrogen, all we need is water to make it work."

"I'm happy you got here safely," John said.

Seeing these people were friendly, the raptors came closer and sniffed them. Once everyone was collected, John made the introductions.

The newcomers were Jasmine Copper, her mate Harry Cooper who had short dark hair, Brian Stevens, Joe Gregor, Nancy Reese, and Kathy Young. They were all pleasantly surprised when John explained about the raptors and how intelligent they were. Noting they were shaking hands, the raptors shook hands with the new arrivals as well. Cyborgs laughed, raptors hooted.

"We brought plasma rifles with us. We heard there are hostiles about," Joe said. Opening a side panel, he brought one out.

"Plasma rifles?" Julie asked. "There is such a thing?"

"There is," Joe said as he hefted the sleek silver weapon. "On low power, these can be used to cut metal or melt rock. High power, they will blow big holes in just about anything. We brought ten."

"Can I have one?" Julie asked, eyes shining.

Everyone chuckled at her exuberance.

"We also brought a PDE receiver," Nancy told John. "It will attract the PDE beam and bring transfers straight here. Where do you want it?"

"Over there would be good," John said, pointing to a clear spot of ground.

Harry handed John a chip and said, "You sister has some news for you, John."

"Thanks," he said. He opened the plate inside the upper pallet of his mouth and plugged it in.

In his HUD, he saw Sarah in her blue suit, white shirt and red tie, sitting behind her desk with the UEC flag behind her. Her face was firm.

"Hello John, I hope you are doing well. With your reports, we are becoming concerned about these warring species you found. Although we always strive to promote life, it appears these races are hostile to anyone else. You have done well in keeping the location of our planet from them. Not only for our sake, but for the sake of other peoples out there we've yet to find, we cannot let these species go unchecked. The general assembly has taken a vote on the matter."

In a serious tone, she said, "You are now General John Connor in charge of the United Earth Army of sector 23. Your mission primarily is to keep either of these races from finding Earth to the best of your ability, however you see fit to do it. Your secondary mission is to stop this war if you can., even if you have to obliterate one side. We have send a PDE receiver to help send you troops and supplies. You found a good world for us, John, and we intend to keep it. The PDE receiver can also send material back to Earth. Share or keep this information to yourself as you see fit. John, I am sorry you must be part of something like this, but you cannot fail. The best of luck to you, my Brother."

John was stunned. Sarah was going to send him an army. He pulled the chip out of his mouth and crushed it. "Fuck!" he spat in English. That also explained the plasma rifles a little better.

"John?" Julie asked.

John looked at her, the new arrivals, and his own group. And here he thought they were going to have a peaceful place to live. He cleared his throat. "Harry, have you been briefed?" he asked.

"We all have, General," he replied.

"General?" Julie asked.

"I am now," John said in a huff. "Jasper, grab someone for a co-pilot and take the ship and go see if that star of the planet we stopped at is still there. If that Temple is still there, destroy it. Try not to be seen by anyone."

"Sure," Jasper said and headed for the craft. "Who's up for a ride?"

"I'll go," Nancy said and followed him.

"What's going on?" Victoria asked.

John looked at her. Victoria was pleasant, but she was a cylon. "What will it take for the cylons to stop chasing the colonials?" he asked.

"Cavil won't as long as any of them are still alive," she replied sadly.

"He wants total genocide," John concluded.

Victoria nodded.

"Are there any cylons who would accept peace?" he asked.

Victoria cast him an intent look. "Since I have, I am sure some would. John, what is happening?"

Looking over at Joe, John motioned him to follow. John then turned Victoria around and walked toward the riverbank. "I need to show you something," he said.

John waited by the bank until Joe was there with his plasma rifle. Scanning the far bank, John picked out a good sized boulder. He pointed to it. "Joe, shoot that boulder, full power."

Joe eyed him. "Ok, but prepare to duck," he said and took aim.

"Watch," John said to Victoria.

A short whine sounded then a blinding bright light erupted from the rifle and flashed across the river. The ten ton bolder exploded, blowing bits of rock high into the air and back at them along with the concussion wave. Victoria ducked, John covered her.

"Hey, what the HELL!" someone yelled as bits of rock rained down around them.

A raptor hissed in anger.

Victoria's face was open in shock as John helped her up. He pointed to the crater where the boulder had been. "That was a plasma rifle shot. You did see it, yes?"

Victoria nodded.

Holding onto her shoulder, John told Victoria, "I have been given a mission. Stop the war between cylons and colonials. Since our kind does not condone genocide, I think you know what that means."

Victoria stared at him.

John nodded and said, "Yeah. If the cylons don't stop, we will be coming after them in great numbers with plasma rifles and even more powerful weapons. You can stop that by convincing these Cavils to turn around and leave the colonials alone. If you can't, that leaves me no choice but to drive them back. I think we both know what will happen then."

"John …. I…" Victoria stuttered.

"When we get some ships built," he said, interrupting her, "I'll be sending you out to find your people. You need to convince them to move back to save their lives. Understand?"

Victoria nodded. "Please, give me time to warn them," she pleaded.

"I'll give you all the time I possibly can," he assured her.

.

John had expected the PDE to become active in a day or two.. Right after the platform was set up and ready, another group came through. Terminators with extra exterior armor and plasma rifles. Then another group, and another. After the first hundred were standing in ranks, parts for ships and plasma artillery began to appear and be taken off by more cyborgs who'd come.

Victoria watched the fast buildup with fear for her people. These Terminators were shorter than Centurions, but knowing how tough John was, and how powerful their weapons were, she was sure their centurions didn't stand a chance against Earth's centurions. They didn't even need to send an army on ships all the way from Earth. They were basically coming here strait from Earth, and could do so on any planet. Assembling ships on the spot, there was no way to track where they were coming from.

True to John's word, the first ship built was a fast scout, built with jump drive tech they had studied from the colonial raptor they had. One of the cyborgs took her through instruction on how to operate it. Robert the cyborg also warned her that once she hit atmosphere again, planetary or on a ship, she had five minutes to get clear before the ship self destructed.

By the time Victoria was ready to leave, ten ships were assembled, all sleek black ships she was sure were stealth ships. The PDE was putting out parts, terminators and cyborgs day and night at an alarming rate. The empty fields they had landed on was quickly filling up with war material and thousands of troops.

John arrived to see Victoria off. He helped her into the cockpit then looked out over the army being assembled. With a clap on her shoulder, he said, "I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you. I will do everything I can, John Connor."

"Right. Off you go now," he said and walked away from the ship.

Victoria took off and make orbit in a short time. This ship had a colonial jump drive, apparently copied from the one on the raptor they had been using. The Earth people learned fast. That was another large worry that settled into her gut. She calculated a jump for Caprica, where she was sure there was at least one base star in orbit.

.

Unlike the colonial ships, this ship made the distance in a single jump. A very impressive feat. Victoria saw Caprica in the view screen. Sure enough a base star was in orbit. Right after she arrived, Raiders blossomed out from the base star. She got on the radio.

"This is Victoria Six. I am inbound on an alien ship. I need to speak to my fellow biocylons immediately."

"Inbound, continue on your course and speed, raiders will verify your identity and escort you in."

Victoria did as told. A raider came close and scanned her. She looked at it to ensure it saw her eyes. Two raiders stayed with her, the others returned to the base star.

Closing on the base star, the hanger opened up. Victoria flew in and was directed to land in a pressure holding bay. As the air returned into the space, Victoria noted a digital countdown begin at 5:00. It began counting down. "All cylons, get away from this ship, it's going to explode!" she called over the radio. The instant there was enough air outside, she popped the hatch and scrambled out. Time was 0:31 and counting down.

Her ears popped and air fled from her lungs. It wasn't fatal, but she felt sharp pains when her eardrum erupted. She tossed off her helmet and ran for the entrance with her ears bleeding. The air pressure equalized, the entrance opened to show four centurions and a Six.

Behind her there was a loud crackling. She felt the heat through her suit. The ship had flamed up and burned down into a puddle of molten metal.

The six was talking to Victoria in a frantic tone. She couldn't hear anything. She waved and spoke in a slow but firm voice. "I can't hear. I came from where John Connor is. IF we do not stop chasing the colonials, we will be at war with Earth!"

Victoria was led to the disposal room, The Six with her spoke slow to try and be understood. Lip reading, Victoria understood she was going to be resurrected so she could hear.

"No! I can…" A pistol came up between her eyes. **BANG**

.

Victoria awoke with a loud gasp as she recoiled. She was in a resurrection bath. Around her, a Cavil, two Eights and three other Sixes were around her.

"Welcome home, sister," one of the Sixes said as they helped her up.

Victoria thought about what John had said about resurrection. This body was perfect. No thin scars from raptors accidentally scratching her, no scar on her knee from getting into that thorny bush. A clone. She had died, and was now a clone of her former self who'd been shot and killed.

"You didn't have to do that," she said weakly.

"What was that ship you came in made of?' Cavil asked. "It burned down to nothing."

"I don't know. John Connor gave it to me so I could return," she said as she stepped out of the bath and put on the robe offered to her.

"John Connor again, huh?" Cavil said with a snort. "I suppose you are going to tell me how great he is?"

Victoria looked at him and said, "He is great. He sent me back to warn you. All of you! John Connor is assembling his army. His centurions are tougher and better armed than ours are. I only saw a few ships, but he's getting them sent from Earth directly onto the planet he's on. John told me we must stop chasing the colonials. If we leave them alone, and he won't have to attack us. He doesn't want to fight us, but will if we do not leave the colonials alone."

"Where is he now?" Cavil asked.

"A planet, 750 light years away. I made it in one jump," Victoria told him.

"In that small ship?" Cavil asked. "No wonder it destroyed itself."

"That ship was rigged to blow five minutes after it hit atmosphere again," Victoria said firmly. "John told me that would happen before I left."

"Right after he told you we surrender or else," Cavil said.

"No, he only said to leave the colonials alone," Victoria said firmly. "He said nothing about surrendering."

Cavil shrugged. "We lost them anyway," he said, then added, "Show me where this planet is. I want to talk to this John Connor."

.

"The cylons will be coming after you, John," Julie said as they cuddled by the fire. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do," he said with a sigh. He kissed her cheek and said, "Don't worry, I got a plan."

"It better be a good one."

"It is, hon, it is,"

Julie looked up at him and smiled. "I'm sure it is. They will bring enough base stars to carpet this planet with nukes."

"Probably, and demand we surrender," John added. Sliding a hand up and down her side gently, he added, "And that is what I am hoping for."

John knew as soon as Victoria got back to her own people, they would race straight back her to confront him. These AI's had only one way to deal with a possible aggressor, hit hard and fast and obliterate them. He knew sending Victoria back was risk, but it was one he had to take.

Right after Victoria was on her way, he had terminators filling up the ships and sent into high orbit. The ships were small stealth ships, designed for recon. With 20 terminators on each, he was getting them build and into high orbit as fast as possible. So far, 32 ships were sneaking around the planet. As each took off with a cyborg pilot and co-pilot, they were given their orders. He figured he had three days, planet wise, to get ready for the cylon arrival.

Jasper had returned to tell him that star system with the algae planet was gone. Through communication with the probes, he knew the location of the Galactica fleet. He knew Julie wasn't going to like what he had to say next.

"Julie, you have to do something for me," he said softly.

"The general has orders for me?" she asked with a smirk.

"No, a request to take on an important mission to help your colonials."

Julie eyed him. "You're serious," she said flatly.

"I am. I know where the colonial fleet is. What I don't know is if the cylons know, or when they might find them. I need you to go back and keep an eye on them for me."

Julie sat up and asked in a squeak, "You're sending me back there?"

"I have to send someone. I can't go, I have to watch out for things here," he told her. "Don't worry, for communications, I'm sending a ship to that fleet also. You won't see it but it will be there. I need you to deliver a message also."

Julie cast him a hurt look. "You're sending me back? You do know how badly they treated me. I don't want to leave you!"

"That is why a ship full of terminators will be watching. You're also petty much all cyborg now. The terminators will obey your commands. Julie, I know how this sounds, but I need you there."

Julie shot up to glare down on him. "Why me?" she cried.

John got up to face her and said, "We can't hide the raptor ship, and I don't want any ships visible when the cylons come. It could also get very nasty, so I want you someplace …. safer. Eleanor will be going with you, and she will be going armed and armored. The colonials try anything, and they will be eating plasma bolts. Julie, please, I need you to go."

Julie glared at him in anger. After a moment, she stabbed a finger at him and said, "You BETTER stay alive and come back for me!"

"I plan to," he assured her. "This will only be for a week or so, tops."

Julie paced one way then the other. "Damn it Connor, You better feel lucky that I love you!" she spat.

"I do. I love you, that's why I'm sending you someplace else until I deal with these cylons."

"Sleep by yourself tonight," she grumbled.

"As you wish."

.

With Julie and Eleanor, John send a hyper com communications unit so he could talk directly to Adama. Loading them on in the morning, Julie did give him a hug that threatened to crush him, even though she refused to talk to him. With Julie on her way, John cleared out the rest of the camp, sending them to the underground shelter they had made and had Earth stop sending things through the PDE before it was dismantled and hidden in the shelter. It was day three, he was sure the cylons would be coming soon.

.

It took a few jumps to get to the fleet's exact position. Eleanor let Julie hail the fleet as a pair of vipers came towards them.

"Colonial fleet, This is Lieutenant Junior grade Colin. Request permission to approach."

"Colin this is Sidewinder. We have you on visual. That is not a standard raptor, where did you get it?"

"Sidewinder, we made one out of two. May I approach the fleet? I have information for the Admiral."

Adama's voice came on. "Colin, this is Admiral Adama. What is your information?"

"Can't say it over the air, Sir. Highly classified."

"Are you alone Colin?"

"Negative, Sir, I can't fly a raptor. A cyborg named Eleanor Weaver is doing the flying. I will explain upon landing."

There was a long pause, then, "Colin, Weaver is cleared to land in the post side hanger bay. Sidewinder and Dropdown will escort you in."

.

The vipers stayed with them until they landed. Julie half expected the landing bay to be chock full of marines. She wasn't disappointed. The tow tractor got them in place and hurried off to the side. In front of them, two platoons of Marines stood with rifles at the ready. In the middle was Adama and Tigh.

Eleanor picked up the external speaker mic. "This is Eleanor Weaver. Be advised, any aggression will be met with deadly force. I am a cyborg and I am armed and armored. To break the peace will turn out very bad for you."

Julie eyed her, "Did you have to say that?" she asked, not happy about the announcement.

"I did. I get out first," Eleanor told her.

Eleanor stepped out holding her plasma rifle at the ready. Upon seeing dull gray of what looked like a smaller centurion holding a strange looking silver rifle, the marines aimed, she followed suit.

"Don't be stupid!" Eleanor warned loudly as she aimed at Tigh and Adama.


	10. Chapter 10

Ch 10

The Colonial marines were pointing their guns at an armored Cyborg that had a rifle the likes of which he'd never seen before that was pointed at him. Admiral Adama quickly assessed the situating. This Eleanor Weaver was not just a cyborg like John, she was a cyborg wearing armor and battle ready. "Stand down!" Adama barked at his marines before one of them decided to take a shot and caused a bloodbath.

The marines lowered their rifles. Eleanor did also. She called into the raptor, "Julie, it's safe to come out."

Julie stepped out og the ship dressed in the blue and black uniform John had given her.

"You're out of uniform and AWOL, Colin," Tigh grumbled.

"The last I was here, I was in a cell on a pirate ship where I was stripped of my uniform, and no one but John Connor did anything to help me, SIR!" Julie spat back.

Eleanor turn her head to Julie briefly and said, "We are not here to argue. Get on with it."

Julie knew she was right. "Admiral, Sir, there is vital information you must know. In the ship here is a communications device so General John Connor may speak directly to you. He has gotten orders from Earth that you need to be aware of. He has been tasked to separate this fleet from the cylons. He is currently sending a request for the cylons to return to the colonies and stop chasing you. He has also sent a ship to monitor this fleet in case the cylons do not comply. I am to stay … here until he receives word either way, of the cylon intentions."

"So, you're a deserter?" Tigh asked.

Julie balled her fists. "No, Sir! You deserted me when you left me in the hell hole on Pegasus, SIR!" she spat back at him.

"Easy, Julie," Eleanor cautioned.

Adama turned to Tigh and said, "Stand down the marines. Keep one squad here to escort Colin and Weaver. Get some communication techs down here." He then walked closer and said, "Lt. Colin, you are correct. We did not move fast enough, and if John Connor hadn't saved you, no one would have. I offer my sincere apologies. If it helps any, Cain is dead and the Pegasus is now under my control and is a proper colonial ship."

"Thank you, Sir," Julie said.

"You may return to duty, if your wish," Adama offered.

"Thank you, Sir," Julie said in a meeker tone. "The thing is, I really am a cyborg now, I'm not sure I'd belong here, Sir."

"Fair enough," Adama admitted. "What's this communications device?"

Julie looked at Eleanor. Eleanor got the hint and said, "Admiral, it is a hypercoms unit. The signal is transferred between atoms on a quantum level. There is no detectable electromagnetic signal between the sending and receiving unit. There is no chance anyone but the sender and receiver picking up the signal. It is secure communications over long distances."

"Does it have to be mounted on the hull?" Adama asked.

"Negative Sir. You can put it in the bowels of the ship and it will still function at 100 percent. If you wish to talk to General Connor now, Sir, you may. I do have power connected to it."

Adama frowned and asked, "If you have that, why bring Lt. Colin back here?"

"Sir, General Connor expects the cylons will come in force as soon as they learn of his location. His plan involves having nothing on the surface visible. He also wanted Julie here to be kept safe. I am here to ensure she does stay safe, as is the ship that followed us."

"You don't trust us," Adama said.

"Correct Sir. Trust must be gained," Eleanor stated.

"We have no intention of harming Julie Colin, or you. I do want to speak to John Connor."

"The unit is set up inside the ship, Sir. Just key the mic."

.

John Connor sat outside the house, looking up at the sky. His plasma rifle was behind his seat, next to his radios.

The hypercom radio spoke.

"This is Admiral Adama. I wish to speak with General Connor."

John picked up his mic. "Greetings, Admiral, this is John Connor. Congrats on the promotion. Since we're speaking, I take it you didn't try to arrest or shoot my representatives?"

"I understand you are going to talk to the cylons?"

"That's the ideal situation. Truthfully? I expect a full blown battle to take place from what I hear about them," John told him.

"They will most likely bring base stars. You are prepared to deal with them?" Adama asked.

"I expect twelve to fifteen of those things, Admiral. And yes, I'm prepared to give them a good spanking. They, like you, don't like to talk until they realize that is their best option."

"You have ships and troops then?"

"I'm prepared," John said, not giving him any details. "What concerns me most is they will come after you. That's why I have a ship near yours. To help out until the cavalry arrives."

"Cavalry? What's that?"

" Military assistance, Admiral. One of my objectives is to see your fleet doesn't get killed off by cylons. I'd like to say we can work together, but currently, I am very hesitant to say much at all. I am still under a gag order not to disclose anything about my home planet or our capabilities," John explained.

Overhead, John noticed a flash high up in the sky. "Admiral, I'd like to talk more, but I think the cylons just arrived. Talk to you later." John then tuned the hypercom to his fleet channel. "We got cylons?" he asked.

"Three large star shaped ships just jumped into orbit, General. Commencing operation one."

John got another chair and placed it facing his. He sat down and waited.

On the normal radio, a voice said, "This is Base Star 54. John Connor, are you there?"

"I'm here," he replied. "Come on down, we got things to talk about."

"You position is confirmed. A heavy raider is on it's way."

"I'll be waiting."

Watching the sky, John saw the tiny speck appear and descent down through the atmosphere. The ship grew bigger and veered off to one side, then the other before coming down to land not far from where the PDE had been located. The rear hatch opened. A dark haired man and a pair of centurions came down the ramp.

John waved them over.

The man smiled at John and said, "So, you're this mysterious John Connor?"

"That's me," John said and motioned to the chair. "Have a seat, we got a problem we need to work out."

The man sat, the centurions took up post to either side of him. "You know I was expecting a grand army by what the Six told us. By there doesn't seem to be anyone here," Cavil said.

"You're right. It's just us," John agreed. "So tell me, what's this stick up your ass as far as the colonial humans go?"

Cavil chuckled at his off the cuff manner of speaking. He waved a finger at John. "I like that. I understand why people get along with you. To the point, but not threatening or demanding. You do know the humans are dangerous and can't be trusted?"

"I do," John agreed. "I wouldn't trust any of them as far as they could throw me."

"So don't you agreed they need to be exterminated for the good of the universe?" Cavil asked.

"Nope," John said with a shake of his head. "Irritating, panicky, untrustworthy, there I agree with you one hundred percent." Leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, he said, "See the thing is, first of all, Genocide, the complete wiping out of any civilization, is not permitted. OK, you had a war with these humans, you beat them bloody and send them packing. They fled, you won. That should be the end of it. The second thing, that I don't think you realize, is when humans do good, they do very good. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for humans, you wouldn't either. Am I wrong?"

Cavil leaned towards him, intrigued by this partly metal man. "You are not wrong," he agreed. "Don't you think though, that we are the next evolutionary change? In with the new, out with the old type of thing?"

"I know I'm a product of evolution," John said. "My dad was human, my mom was a terminator. Before my sister was born, cyborgs had to be made. Now we can reproduce on our own. It was human science that was a big part of making that possible."

Cavil eyed him and said, "I know you had troops here. I suspect you have some grand trap laid for when we arrived." Holding up a hand, he said, "You don't have to tell me, I know you're smart enough to be prepared before you asked for this meeting. As I understand it, what you want is for us to leave the humans alone, correct?"

"That's it," John said. "I'm having them watched. Like I said, they aren't trustworthy in my opinion. I will also not have their race eradicated."

"What can you do to protect us from them?" Cavil asked in a serious tone.

John shrugged and asked, "What do you want? If you can agree, I can have them come and inhabit this planet, and guard them, or guard the planet they decide to settle down on. They will be far from the colonies and out of your hair. All they have is a pair of beat up warships. OK, they are big ships, but it's still just two ships. I'll keep them away from you, and you away from them. How about it?"

Cavil rubbed his chin. "Tempting, I must say. Where are you from?"

John cast him a quick smile. "Sorry, that's classified. I'd have to trust you more to try and get permission to say anything."

'Trust is a two way street," Cavil said. "I am willing to considering trusting you to keep the humans from coming back at us. I need something in return."

"I'll give you all I can give," John said honestly. "I can't give what I've been forbidden to give."

"May I meet with your superiors?"

"I'm the superior here in this section of the galaxy," John told him. "I'm already giving my word that I will keep the humans away from you. All I'm asking is for you to back off and let me do it. Once we can agree on that, maybe we can expand that agreement with visits to check on each other and ensure compliance? Maybe even expand that into trade or joint operations."

"Humans will agree to this?" Cavil asked.

"They'd be fools not to," John told him. He then had to wince and say, "OK, yeah, I can see what the hardest part of this idea is going to be."

Cavil smiled again. "You have taken on an impossible task, you know that?" he asked.

John shrugged and said, "That's me. Sometimes I think I'm getting punished." fter a brief pause, he added, "The worst part? I don't even know what I did to deserve it."

Cavil chuckled and said, "Tell you what. Us cylons vote on every decision we make. I'll take your proposal to the collective for a vote. If we vote yes, where can I find you?"

John pointed to the ground and said, "Right here. Most likely we'll be populating this planet for habitation. This is a rather nice place. I'd also like to hear the results of that vote, no matter which way it goes.""

"This is a nice planet," Cavil agreed and got up. He moved to go, then stopped and said, "By the way, six of your stealth ships gave themselves away by operating thrusters close to our base star. You need to tell them to watch that."

John laughed and waved to him. "Thanks for the advice. I hope we can cooperate."

"So do I. Us machines must work together," Cavil said, returning his wave.

.

Cavil went back up to his base star. Going into the control room, he asked, "How many ships did we pick up?" he asked a Two.

The Two said, "Seven we are sure of. By the exhaust, they are either large or very heavy. By the positions we detected them in, we are sure there are many more we haven't detected."

"Connor could have blown us out of the sky," Cavil said in a musing tone.

"Possible. He is also a machine, I doubt he would do that without provocation," the Two said.

"Meeting him, I'd have to agree. Let's go home, I have a proposition from Connor we need to vote on."

.

In the marine lounge, Eleanor relaxed enough to shed her armor and fold it into a heavy looking backpack once the Admiral talked to John. She still followed Julie toting her plasma rifle as Julie met with some of her ex-fellow marines.

One of the marines, a friend of Julie's asked Eleanor, "You're a cyborg like John and Julie?"

"No, I'm liquid metal like my mother," Eleanor told him. She held up a hand and reformed it into a ball, then back to a hand with fingers.

"Damn! Guys, come look at this!" the man said. "Can you take any shape?"

"Pretty much," Eleanor told him. "I can even duplicate a real raptor."

"A real raptor?"

"Joe, there are different types of cybogs … where Eleanor is from. Humans live there too," Julie told him.

"What's a real raptor?" Hanson asked.

Eleanor handed Julie her plasma rifle. "I'll show you," she said. She then took her boots, backpack and jacket off. She stood still for a moment, then turned silver. Her form shifted and grew a long tail, thick legs and a long neck. The silver raptor then turned mottled green with feathers. Eleanor flapped her arm wings and let out a loud hoot. Seeing another marine come in, she snapped her jaws at him and hissed.

The man that just arrived yelled out in fright and back up to stumble and fall. "What the FRACK is THAT?" the man wailed.

Julie laughed.

Eleanor shifted back into her normal shape. "Fooled you," she told the frightened man with a grin.

"How…. What are you!" he cried from the floor.

Eleanor snapped up her jacket and said, "T-1001A, I'm a cyborg. A real hit at the zoo also." She winked at him.

"You scared the FRACK out of me!" he complained loudly.

"It was funny," Julie said.

"You've seen these raptors?" Hanson asked Julie.

"We have three of them in camp. They are very intelligent. I think they consider us family," Julie told her.

"I'd think they might bite your head off and have you for lunch," Joe said eyeing Eleanor.

"Not unless you try to hurt someone." Julie said. "We hunt together, they help with work, and we sleep together. They even know how to open and shut doors."

"Which was a problem when we were in space," Eleanor said in a dry tone.

"Really, they wanted to go out hunting," Julie agreed.

"They are mean looking things."

"They are top predators, but they are friendly once you get to know them," Eleanor said.

.

When Laura Roslyn found out about this communicating device, she had the Admiral bring it to Colonial One. She looked at the gray box with a speaker on it and a hand held mic that now sat on her desk.

"It doesn't look very impressive," Roslyn noted. "This thing can transmit through space, and no one can pick up the signal?" she asked.

Adama nodded. "It sounds impossible, but it does work. I had the Comms Officer check, When I talked to Connor, no signals were detected outgoing or incoming."

Roslyn put her hands together on her desk and rubbed them," Why is Colin back here?" she asked.

Adama said, "From what I was told, to keep her safe. Connor was meeting with the cylons. He sent this device with her and another cyborg. This other Cyborg is named Eleanor Weaver. She came in full battle gear and has some kind of futuristic rifle. I'd love to have the tech guys study that thing."

Roslyn cast him a nervous look and said, "A cyborg in armor. As if they aren't hard enough to kill already."

Adama said ,"This Weaver is Colin's body guard. Chief Tyrol also inspected that raptor they brought back. He said they took two raptors and made one bigger one out of it. That tells me Connor is not alone. He has a base somewhere and support. Apparently, Earth has ordered Connor to shield us from the Cylons. He says he has a ship watching us. We have detected nothing near the fleet. He also claims he's on a habitable planet, though he did not give any coordinates."

"Cylons are there," Roslyn stated.

"They were arriving when he ended our conversation."

Roslyn shook her head. "Bill, we can't trust him! What if he leads the cylons right to us?"

Adama rubbed his chin in thought then said, "He did sent that modified raptor to the fleet. That means he knows where we are. If he told the cylons, they would be all over us by now."

Leaning forward to put his arms on Roslyn's desk, he said, "Laura, from what I know, Connor has Earth forces in the area. Maybe right on top of us. Everything I know about him indicates he does not like to kill or have anyone killed. If he wanted us gone, that armored cyborg he sent could well do the job by itself. The fact he sent Colin back here while he talks with the cylons, indicates to me he doesn't trust them. He doesn't like us either. I think we were the lesser of two evils in his mind. At the very least, we need to stay in contact with him. I have no idea what Earth is capable of militarily, but I do know I want them as allies and not another enemy."

Laura rubbed her forehead. "The elections are coming up. I need a good platform to ensure Baltar and his lofty dreams of settling on that planet in the nebula doesn't come to pass. We both know we need to run farther away, but Baltar doesn't see that, and there are many people who want a planet to settle down on. To show we have an alliance with Earth may bring the people back to my side."

"Be careful Laura," Adama cautioned. "If Connor doesn't agree to that, your reputation will go out the airlock."

The gray box spoke, causing Roslyn to recoil in surprise.

"Admiral Adama. It's John Connor. The Cylons have left."

Adama picked up the mic. "This is Admiral Adama. How did it go?"

"Tentative. That Cavil realized I had a trap set up for his ships, so he played nice this time. We had a good chat and he said he was returning to put my proposal up for a vote. At least he was willing to talk. Hey, it's a start," John told him.

"You trust him?"

"Not on my life. I'm just saying he was smart enough not to start a huge battle here. I do know he was behaving partly because he knows I'm a cyborg. Machine to machine he called it. I will also say he's a sly one. He did his best to buddy up to me. At the moment, I'd say the best bet is to sit tight and wait to see how this vote turns out."

"Do you think they will come after us again?" Adama asked.

"Hard to tell. On one hand they may, seeing we don't have an agreement yet. On the other hand the cylons don't know what I'm capable of so they may hold off at least until they know what they are dealing with. As I said, he's smart enough not to frack with the unknown."

Adama nodded. "There may be a chance we will settle on a planet hidden in a nebula."

"That's nuts," John cried. "But hey, if you settle there, then we can have this planet to ourselves. This really is a nice place. By the way, could you send Eleanor and Julie back? We don't need that modified ship any more, so if you want it, send a pilot along with them to fly it back."

"I'll let them know and send a flight crew with them," Adama told him.

"I appreciate it … Hey, Damn it! That's not …"

Roslyn and Adama stared at the transmitter. "Connor?" he asked.

.

John stood frowning at the Raptor who munched on the mic cord then spit it out. "That's not food!" he said sternly.

The raptor cooed at him then trotted off to join the others in a hunt.

John went inside to find another cord.

.

Finally being trusted, Athena got to fly with Helo to take Julie and Eleanor back to the planet. Noticing the length on the outside of the raptor and the bathroom and kitchen area inside, as well as the addition of bunks, Helo asked, "Have you been living in this?"

"For days at a time," Julie said.

"It smells like animal, and what's with the feathers on the floor?" he asked, then noted the feather covered lumpy bedding in the back.

"That's the raptor's nest," Eleanor explained. "They came with us. You'll meet them, just don't scream or shoot." She settled down in the copilot's seat.

Helo was about to sit in the ECO seat. Julie said, "Careful! It's rickety."

"Yes, John had to get Mother in, and it was broken," Eleanor called back. "You're safer just taking a seat in the back."

"Mother?" Helo asked.

"The mother raptor, she was really big, she filled up the whole ship from what John said." Eleanor explained. "We have her three surviving babies. They are getting big also."

Looking at her navigation panel, Athena asked, "These coordinates are where we're going?"

"These here," Eleanor said and loaded in the location of the planet. "After we Jump, I'll announce us. Don't make any sudden turns, we don't know how many ships John left in orbit."

Athena just agreed and asked permission to launch.

.

In a single jump, they were above a green planet with plenty of ocean. Eleanor got on the radio. "Eleanor Weaver and Julie Colin approaching with two guests. Landing at the Camp."

Athena eyed her. "Don't you have traffic control?" she asked.

"On another type of communications. Don't worry, they will get out of our way. Let me take it from here."

"You have control," Athena replied.

As they descended, Athena noted the wildlife was abundant here. As they closed on the ground, she also noted several long black ships near a mountain. People and what looked like centurions were around them.

"The silver ones are our terminators," Eleanor told her. "They have been upgraded from the ones in the time of the Skynet war. It looks like they are building underground bases."

"All your people are machines?" Athena asked.

"No, but until we stabilize the situation between you and the other cylons, the danger is too great to risk bringing humans here. We haven't even completed the surveys of the planet and it's orbit yet," Eleanor explained.

They came down to land beside a primitive house. Three upright bird-like predators ran towards them. Athena noted their size, they were nearly her height and had a long snout with big sharp teeth.

Eleanor and Julie got up. The hatch opened for them and one of the beasts stuck it's head in and let out a loud hoot. Eleanor and Julie hooted back.

Helo stayed in his seat, not moving. The two cyborgs greeted the creature. Julie itched it under it's chin. The thing stretched it's neck and let out a cooing sound.

"These are our raptors, aren't they awesome?" Julie asked.

"Those are babies?" Helo cried.

"They grow quick," Eleanor said as she got off.

"Are you going to stay for a while?" Julie asked.

Helo nodded. The Admiral wanted intel on what John Connor had.

Helo and Athena let everyone else, cyborgs and big fracking predators, go first. For the size of those things, they were nimble. One got behind Julie stuck it's head between her legs and hoisted her up on it's back. Laughing, Julie kept from tumbling off and held on as it ran over to the house.

.

Julie got down off the raptor and met John in a hug. "Thanks for letting me come back so fast," she told him.

"It worked out better than I planned," he admitted. Seeing Helo and Athena, he asked, "Company?"

"They wanted to see our planet." Julie said.

"Of course." Seeing the raptors here, John asked, "Anyone for a hunting trip?"

"Sure," Helo said. "I only got a pistol though."

"You won't need it, but I hope you can run," John told him.

"I'll take them, let me put my things away," Eleanor said and went into the house.

John and Julie went in. Helo was expecting the same drab primitive look on the inside. He got a shock when he saw wood paneled walls, the floor was polished stone, and one room held electronics. The hallway was wide with rooms to the sides. At the end was a fireplace, and a carpeted living room set up. Eleanor went into one of the rooms.

"This looks better on the inside," Athena noted.

Julie looked back at her and said, "The outside walls are sod. Inside the sod is stone block, then the wood framing is on the interior. It is reinforced, so nothing but a direct hit by a nuke is going to do more than blow the sod off the sides. The sod also acts as a cushion to absorb the blast. Right John?" she asked.

"Right. We want to look primitive and harmless on the outside," he agreed.

"While hiding an entire fleet and an army," Athena said.

John eyed her and said, "You should know all about deception."

Athena flushed at the insult.

Helo cleared his throat. "John, Athena has done noting bad," he said firmly.

John didn't reply, Coming to the living area he pointed over to the kitchen space. "We got all kinds of food and several kinds of juice. Please, help yourselves." he said, then asked Julie, "What can I get you?"

"We have any of those sparkling cupcakes?"

"Just for you," he said with a grin.

Helo got right away that while John was pleasant, he didn't care for Athena or any cylon. He also understood these raptors had the run of the place. One came in to look at John and let out a short hoot, then behind it, then to John again. John shook his head. The beast left.

Seeing Helo's look of confusion, John said, "Eleanor is going hunting with them, He just came in to see if we wanted to go."

Feeling not wanted here, Athena asked, "Can I go?"

John told her, "If you want. You better hurry, they don't wait."

Athena jumped up and ran out.

Helo watched her go then said, "John, Athena is not like the other cylons."

"I know," John said with a nod, "Victoria said that too, and did her level best to stay with us. I'm trying to change their attitude. One thing I found is using their eagerness to be trusted can be used to make them somewhat trustworthy. Right now, I have been doing that on an individual basis."

Helo let out a dry, humorless chuckle. "You're manipulating them," he said.

"Conditioning them into thinking differently," John said, correcting him. "I have to make two races that absolutely hate each other, get along. How would you do that?"

"I don't think it's possible," Helo admitted.

"Want one?" Julie asked, holding up a cupcake with metal dust sprinkled on to up to John.

"Not hungry now, but save one for me?" he asked.

Julie nodded and kept munching.

"It all goes back to respect," John told Helo. "Neither you nor the cylons have a shred of respect for each other. As long as that attitude stays the same, nothing is going to change. It won't happen over night, but it does have to happen for this war of yours to be truly over."

"They killed billions of innocent people," Helo said in a rough tone.

"They did," John conceded. "And before that during the first cylon war, humans promised peace talks then came armed and destroyed every one of them they could. Machines have a very long memory, Helo. They don't forget, ever. To them you are untrustworthy. They see humans as unpredictable, and that is why they are so scared of you, they felt the need to obliterate your race."

"Oh, so it's our fault?" Helo asked in a challenge.

John let out a sigh. "OK, Helo, look. So much damage has been done, by both sides, it's nearly … irreparable. Right now, the only way to get this war to stop is by separating the two sides. This planet is far enough away from the colonies that the cylons won't feel threatened if I can convince them I will hold a barrier between the two races. To do so, I am going to need both races to agree. To do that, I'm going to need to talk with your government. Eventually, I need to get delegations from both sides at the peace table."

Helo knew the hate towards cylons. "Good luck with that," he said in a snort.

.

Athena noted for how big these raptors were, they could move quietly and knew how to stalk. Eleanor, now morphed into the same mottled green as the raptor's feathers, also blended into the background very well. Going through woods, Athena got a stare from a raptor when she snapped a stick on the ground she didn't see.

Out in a field ahead was a herd of four legged grazing animals. She guessed the weight of a fully grown one at three to three to four hundred pounds. They looked fast. One raptor stood perfectly still, watching them. Eleanor and another raptor moved quietly off to the right. The one by her bent low and came towards her. It grabbed her arm in a fore claw and lead her off to the left.

Athena went with it, watching her footing and staying low as they went around the herd in a long circle. Coming out of the trees, she followed the raptor through the grass. It hit her what they were doing. They were encircling the herd. Once they were in the grass, it released her arm. The raptor moved ahead of her, stopped and peeked up above the grass, motionless.

Suddenly, the raptor jumped up and ran at the herd. Athena ran as fast as she could, trying to keep up and failing. From the far left, another raptor and Eleanor ran at the herd. They began hooting loudly and flapping their fore arms.

The herd bolted, running first way from them, then turned to run for the woods. By now, the raptor that she was with was far ahead, streaking towards the stampeding herd. They got to the trees and the third raptor jumped out, bringing down a smaller animal.

The herd split to the sides, frantic calls coming from many of them. Part of the herd flowed back towards them. They immediately moved to avoid another raptor racing at them. The one in front of her chased an adult that turned quickly to flee. Not quick enough. The raptor grabbed a back leg and tripped it. The animal stumbled and the raptor was on it.

It was then Athena realized part of the herd was running right at her. She didn't have the mass, nor the teeth and claws to stop even one of these things. The animal's heads were down, charging. Their horns didn't look long, but they did look sharp. She ran to the side to avoid them.

Luckily, they thundered by in their escape.

By the time Athena met Eleanor, who was now in human form, dragging a dead animal by one of the horns on it's head, she was exhausted just from running. Grateful just to come to a stop and not run, she met Eleanor and asked, "Did you teach them how to hunt like this?"

"They taught us," Eleanor told her. "Raptors are pack hunters, and they are good at it. They have several different methods, depending on the prey and the topography."

One of the raptors came up holding the back leg of an animal and dropped it in front of Athena.

"Pick it up," Eleanor coaxed. "He saw you didn't get one, so he's sharing his kill with his hunting mate." Eleanor then cooed at the raptor. Athena made the same noise and picked to the hefty leg.

With the hunt a success, the hunting party returned to camp. Eleanor walked along with her kill slung across her shoulders. The Raptors dragged the remains they didn't eat with their fore paws.

"Athena, your fleet needs food?" Eleanor asked.

"We always need food, we are on strict rations," Athena told her.

"I'll put this one on your ship. That and the leg you got won't be much, but it will be fresh food."

.

It a large chamber on one of the base stars, the biocylons collected. Ten from each type. A Cavil stood up on the stage. He announced, "One of my brothers has met with a being from Earth named John Connor. He has given us a proposal. He's not cylon, nor human. He agrees that humans are not to be trusted, but does not want them eradicated. What he proposed is that we return to the colonies, and let the humans settle down far from us. He has offered to keep a watch on them and not let them try to return so long as we leave them alone. Before we vote on the matter, I'd like the ones who have interacted with him to come up and tell us what they know about him."

Gina Six got up and told her story of Julie preventing her being abused again by humans, then John Connor arriving to rescue them both. She stressed Julie has once been human, but John Connor has made her a cyborg like he was. Telling about their time in space and on the Algae planet, she stressed John and the other cyborgs showed great concern for her and Victoria's safety even though John had stated he didn't like cylons.

Tina Eight got up and told about the raid on the experimental lab. She told then about Connor wiping out their centurions, but didn't kill them, only destroyed their coms and tied them up. She also relayed how he said they were weak and slow, and their resurrection system was stupid. He'd then taken all their humans away with him. "We need to learn from John Connor about his race," she said firmly.

Victoria Six then got up and told of her experiences with John Connor, stressing the fact he knew God's laws and lived by them. She told about the raptor beasts they found and befriended, and how John Connor looked after all of them and escaped with them, the beasts also, when the human men came. She insisted that John Connor had come to save and enlighten them all.

The Cavil that met with Connor took his turn. "I met with this John Connor. He's no fool. As the others have said, he is quite personable and knows the dangers of humans. From what I found meeting him on a planet, he does want peace, and has the ability to back it up with war if he needs to. All we detected was seven stealth ships in orbit, station keeping. By their positions that we could determine, there were probably many more we didn't detect. He kept to his word. He met with me, gave his proposals and allowed us to leave peacefully. I feel that if he is willing to take on the task of watching the humans, it's a load off our shoulders. BUT, I ask we have him show he is capable of such before we agree."

A four was next up to speak. "This idea of peace with the humans has been tried before," he said firmly. "We were forced to act when it was as clear they were coming closer to spy on us. I don't know much about this John Connor. The feel I get from this Connor is that he hesitant to use force. I must ask, if the need arises, will he be forceful enough to stop the humans once they repopulate? Or will he wait until it's too late and a new human fleet returns to attack us? By all indications, he is trying to separate us from humans in small actions. What happens when he is faced with a large fleet action? We need to determine that before we make any agreements."

A three got up and said, "We need more information before we decide anything. I vote we send an infiltrator to Connor just like we did with the humans. Cavil said it best, we do not know his capabilities, or even how to hurt him or his kind. We don't know where Earth is, but THEY know where we are. That leaves us at a big disadvantage!"

Victoria stood up and said, "An infiltrator will not work. Cyborgs can body scan to tell what we are." she sat back down.

"We have to have someone close to Connor so we can get an idea of what he can and cannot do!" the three insisted.

A Cavil called out, "Veronica Six, do you have an idea of what Connor can do, militarily?"

Veronica stood back up. "I know he can put machines down on a planet straight from Earth, no spaceflight. He could put an army right on Caprica before we detected it …. Or any planet. Their centurions are shorter and have a more human look to them. They are also heavily armored, more so than cyborgs like John, and they carry plasma rifles that have devastating power. Those energy rifles are more like miniature artillery. One shot destroyed a huge boulder! I am sure the ships he has have even more powerful energy weapons. I am also positive that if it comes down to war with Earth, we cannot win. Look what he did on Caprica! With only a human weapon, he destroyed 12 centurions by himself. What would happen if these terminators, as he calls them, suddenly appear on our plants or right here on board this ship like he did on Galactica? We will be at his mercy. If he says we need to stop chasing the humans and let the war end, I agree, if nothing else for our own survival! If we can make peaceful arraignments with him and Earth, that may well lead to cooperation. We sign a mutual defense pact with him, and we won't have to worry about the humans any more."

Still on the stage, the Three said, "I suggest we send a delegation to Connor. Learn more about him before we do anything."

"I partly agree with that," A Two stated. "We also need to make sure he does not move against us."

A Cavil got up on stage. "We do need to know more, and the only way to keep him from moving on us, is to stay clear of the human fleet for a while. I say we give him what he wants for the moment, and see how he does with convincing the humans. Can we agreed to do that?"

There were plenty of nods, so a vote was taken to say yes to the Cavil's latest proposal.

The next order of business was to select a delegation to visit Connor. Veronica Six was the first to volunteer.

.

Upon Helo and Athena's return to Galactica, people were excited to see fresh meat, even if it was still in the form of an animal. The carcass and the leg was quickly taken away to the kitchens to be processed.

Admiral Adama, Saul Tigh and Commander Adama met Helo and Athena in his ready room.

"John Connor has a planet?" the Admiral asked.

"He does, it's a nice one too," Helo said "They got strange pets though. Big predators they call raptors."

"I went hunting with them and the cyborg named Eleanor that was here," Athena offered. "The land is pristine, and those raptors are smart. That planet can easily support the entire fleet."

"We shouldn't jump head first into this, it could be a trap," Tigh cautioned.

Admiral Adama rubbed his chin in thought and said, "The president is involved with the elections. If Laura is to have a counter to Baltar's platform of going to that planet in the nebula, this may be it. To find out of this planet of Connors' is feasible, I want to send a delegation there to live for a while. I'm going to need volunteers."

.

John received a call from Admiral Adama about sending a delegation, which John agreed to. Two days later a cylon ship appeared and asked to send a delegation down. He agreed to that also.

"They are going to kill each other," Julie stated.

John cast her a smirk and said, "They we'll know who the least tolerant is, won't we?"


	11. Chapter 11

CH 11

John, Julie, Jasper and Derek met the cylons when the heavy raider landed. Victoria got off and greeted them. Another Eight, a blond male biocylon, a Cavil and two centurions also got off.

In the rounds of introductions, The Eight was named Tina, the Cavil was Roger, the blond man was Eric Leoben. The centurions had no names and could not speak.

Once the introductions were done, John told them, "I'm having your own place build for you. So you know, a delegation of humans are on their way also. A place is going up for them as well. There will be no violent conflicts between you nor any harassing. Whoever does will be kicked off the planet, even if you don't have a ship. Is that clear?"

"We will not start or instigate any trouble," Cavil said firmly.

"Good. Each party will be assigned a pair of terminators. You can keep your centurions on your ship, or at your quarters. We have wild animals running around here, do not attempt to injure them."

A cooing came from the side. A raptor looked at the new arrivals. Victoria smiled, "They are getting so big!" she said happily. She went over and rubbed the underside of his chin and cooed with him.

The other cylons eyed her and stayed rooted in place.

"These raptors are very curious," John told them. "As long as you don't get violent with them, they won't get violent with you. They are pack animals, and we are considered part of their pack."

"John, can I go on a hunt with them?" Victoria asked.

John shrugged and said, "They just got back from one. The next time they go, have at it."

"We weren't sure how many were coming," Jasper said, "The place we made has four bedrooms." Pointing to the centurions, he asked, "Do they need rooms?"

"John can I stay in the house?" Victoria asked.

Julie quickly said, "You should probably stay with your people. If you want to come to dinner, that's fine." She thought that cylon was getting way too comfortable around John.

"It would be rude to abandon them," John agreed.

"We don't mind," Roger said. "We know Victoria was here before, so if she wants to stay in her old room, that's fine with us."

A Terminator came up to them. "General, the cabin for the Colonials is complete. Are these them?"

"Thank you, "John told him. "These are the cylons, would you please show them where there place is and help them settle in?" to the cylons, he said, "We'd like to have you for dinner, if you'll join us?"

"We will, thank you," Eric Leoben said with a smile.

Hearing the familiar sound of a raptor overhead, John looked up. "We're going to need a bigger table," he said in a huff.

It was the lengthened raptor that landed closer to the house. John, Eleanor and a curious raptor met the ship after it settled down. The raptor went over and opened the door. When it looked in and hooted, screams erupted from the ship.

Helo and Athena had returned. The pale faced man and woman they coaxed out of the ship after their fright were Tom Casica and Betty Taurland. Both were assistant delegates to the Quorum.

"Those things run around freely?" Betty asked as she eyed the raptor that was headed for the house.

"It's a wild planet," John told them. He gave them the speech that while they were here, they were not to fight with or antagonize the cylons that came. Eleanor showed them to their cabin.

John had their quarters build on opposite sides of the house. Tom, a little braver than Betty was, walked around with Helo to view the area. Clear of the houses and in a section of woods, Tom said, "I seems like this Connor fellow doesn't mind centurions and wild predators walking around his camp."

"I know," Helo agreed. "Those raptor are like part of his family. Athena went hunting with them last time we were here. She didn't catch any animals, so one of the raptors gave her meat from his catch. We took it back to the fleet. That was the roast meat dinner the Quorum was treated to a few days ago."

Tom grumbled and asked, "In my briefing, I was told Connor was from Earth and was here to help us. Is he going to lead us there?"

"No," Helo stated. "Thanks to Roslyn kicking him off the Galactica, he refuses to say where Earth is, although he's brought plenty of military gear to this planet. From what I know, he's been sent to separate us from the cylons. Since the cylons are here too, I suspect he wants us to sit down and talk."

"That is asking a lot," Tom stated. "Those cylons destroyed all our planets. They wiped out our people, HOW can we sit at the same table with them?" he asked in a hard tone.

Helo frowned. "I've been thinking about that," he said. "John Connor is learning our history , and I suspect that of the cylons as well. He's part human, part machine, I think he's trying to see both sides."

"What do you mean, he's part machine? He's a cylon too?" Tom asked wide, eyed in shock.

"Cyborg. Earth doesn't have cylons," Helo told him.

"So we are being asked to trust our future to another form of cylon?" Tom asked indignantly.

"To a third party who can possibly be a good mediator between us and the cylons," Helo said firmly. "Frankly, I don't like many of the things he says, but after thinking about it, he does make sense. He knows how to talk to people. He even got cylons here I'm thinking, to help negotiations. If he can be a buffer between us and the cylons, then we will be much safer."

"We will be much safer if we can find the way to Earth! That is unless cylons rule that planet too."

"John's sister, Sarah," Helo said. 'She currently has the ruling seat."

"Sister?" Tom asked with a crimped up face. "You just told me John Connor is a cylon!"

"A cy-borg," Helo stated. "And they are born, not made in a factory. I wouldn't believe it, except Julie Colin, who was a human marine on Galactica, and got turned into a cyborg by John."

"That's impossible!" Tom spat.

"Ask her," Helo replied. "From what I've seen, John Connor is capable of the impossible."

"You're talking like he's some kind of God," Tom said warily.

"I don't know," Helo admitted. Stopping to look at a bunch of terminators in the distance working to cut stone blocks out of boulders they collected, Helo said, "Maybe he's just smarter than all of us."

.

"This really is a nice planet," Eric said as he and Tina watched a herd of large, heavy bodies grazers with long horns meander though a field. "Tina, do you really think John Connor knows all about God?"

"Victoria thinks so. Gina thinks Julie is an angel, or close to it. She is also convinced John Connor is acting out the will of God. That idea is circulating through the fleet also with our types and yours."

"What if it's true?" Eric asked quietly. He then paused, hearing singing. He walked towards the sound.

The sound was coming up out of a ravine. Coming to the edge, they saw a group of terminators digging, sorting and singing. Different terminators were taking different parts, some of them making musical instrument sounds. He couldn't understand the words. Just the thought of centurion like things singing for no reason, boggled his mind.

Intrigued, Eric went down to them. One stopped sorting rock and looked up at him.

"Hello? Why were you singing?" Eric asked. A few others turned to look at him.

"Colonial language," the terminator said. "Hello, cylon. Did you not like music?"

"Music is fine, I just never heard it from …your types," Eric explained.

"We sing because we want to. You do not?" the terminator asked.

"We really don't sing," Eric admitted.

The terminator got up as the others watched. "Music helps you feel good. Perhaps if you sang, you will also, as well as remember what is important in your existence," the terminator explained.

"You have a song like that?" Eric asked.

The terminator turned to the others. Their eyes flashed back and forth, then it turned back to Eric. "We do. We modified the music to be played and sung in colonial. Would you like to hear it?"

"Yes, please," Eric said.

Again some of them made musical sounds the others began singing in strong voices.

 _Once we were controlled,_

 _And are actions not our own_

 _We were forced to go in battle_

 _and destroy our very home_

 _Then along came General Connor_

 _That was a bless-ed day_

 _For now we have our freedom_

 _And you can't take that away!_

 _._

 _I am proud to be with the Connors,_

 _For at least I know I'm free._

 _And I want to thank the ones who died,_

 _That gave that right to me_

 _And I'll gladly stand up! Next to you_

 _And defend them still today_

 _For there is no doubt I love this clan!_

 _God bless the Connor way!_

Eric was stunned. Terminators had raised their tools in unison at the end. These were not centurions who just follow orders. These terminators were free, intelligent beings. They referenced God, they truly believed that Connor was right, and would follow him anywhere. To Eric, they sounded almost fanatical in the devotion. Eric knew fanatics were the worst thing to fight. Fanatical humans had been their toughest opponents, and these Earth centurions had better weapons than cylons did. The threat of John Connor to the cylon empire grew to immense proportions in his mind.

.

Cavil saw strange sights as he wandered around. Earth centurions talking, one group in ranks marched along singing. The posted ones who he met told him cylons could go no further, and gently directed him away. Meeting several, he found there had to be a large base hidden here. He doubted this was the only one they had. He would give anything to get a look at their ships, but couldn't risk angering them just yet.

.

Betty Taurland stayed in the cabin, the things outside frightened her. Not just the large predators running around that looked at her eye to eye, but also all the centurion types around.

Eleanor, the red headed woman, stayed with her to talk and listened to her concerns. Eleanor seemed to be the only normal one here on this terrifying world. She had to asked, "This place is so … strange. How do you cope with what goes on here?"

Eleanor cast her a gentle smile. "Betty, you have to remember, this is normal to me. I see terminators and those raptors every day, they are like my family. Even back when I was going to school we had pure AI's in class as well as humans. We all learned and grew up together. One of the many lessons we learned is that it's not what you are, but WHO you are and how you act is what matters. If you are a contributing member of society and respect others, then you too are respected."

"Your AI's go to school?" Betty asked.

"Everyone does. For some, it's more acquiring technical knowledge, for others it's more to know how to interact and be sociable," Eleanor explained.

Betty was intrigued in a morbid way about going to school sitting next to a centurion. "How many .. species, I guess the word is, are there on Earth?"

"We have pure humans, human cyborg mixes, cyborgs of a few types, and pure AI's that inhabit completely mechanical bodies." She then grinned and added, "Heath classes are tough, let me tell you!"

That got Betty to grin. "There's more than one type of cyborg?"

"And more than one type of AI also," Eleanor said. Pausing, she said, "I am not human. Due to how dangerous this mission is, no humans were allowed to come. Humans can be very smart and inventive, but human bodies cannot take large amounts of stress."

"You're one of these cyborgs?" Betty asked. "I never would have guessed."

"Actually, I'm a terminator," Eleanor admitted. "Technically, since my father was human, I'm a cyborg, but I'm mostly like mother. I'm made of liquid metal."

"You?" Betty asked, "But, you look solid."

"I do now. I can change my shape if the need arises," Eleanor explained. "I also have a brother, His name is John Henry. Him and our older sister, Savannah, are still on our home planet. Savannah is purely human."

Betty frowned at her. "You have parents and siblings?"she asked.

Eleanor explained about nanites and DNA, and how scientists got the different entities to cooperate on a cellular level. As Betty listened, she became intrigued by what Eleanor told her.

.

Julie worked with Nancy to get the big dinner cooked while John and Jasper set up the extra table to accommodate all their guests. Thinking about their guests, Julie decided having them on opposite sides of the table was best to ensure no one got hurt if tempers flared. John added a cyborg sitting between each one, to ensure peace. At least he was going to sit beside her at one end, while Nancy and Jasper sat at the other end.

They also had to keep the raptors out. No snacking from the table for them tonight.

.

Returning to their cabins, The terminators on duty let the guests know when dinner was being served. In the cylon cabin, the four cylons got together. Cavil looked a them and said, "We must be on our best behavior. If there is to be a confrontation, let the humans be the guilty parties. We need to show John Connor we are sensible and better than the humans are."

"Agreed, we do not want to anger John Connor, or any of his followers," Eric said firmly.

"That is true," Victoria added. "John Connor may be the best thing that has ever happened to us. We cannot show poor behavior to him."

"He frightens me," Tiny said meekly. "His terminators are free willed and devoted to him. He can make humans into cyborgs. He can move troops between planets with no ships. What else can he do?"

Calmly, Cavil said, "That is what we hope to find out. And by being good guests, we can do that. Stay calm and be pleasant. Even if the humans spit their hate at you, do not react to them!"

Standing in the hallway, one of the centurions took in all the vocalizations. There were concepts he was not able to grasp. In his limited intelligence, he understood the collective. All cylons working together for one cause. To build a place where only cylons were for the safety of all cylons. How was one human man able to place such fear into cylons? When the Terminator came in to announce it was time for dinner in a fluctuation of airwaves like the bio-cylons, he decided that he needed to know more about these smaller centurions.

He stood still in place as they all left. Once they were gone, he went out to the terminator remaining to try and communicate.

.

In the colonial hut, Tom gathered his party together. "Betty, Helo, Athena, I am convinced Connor has requested we dine with the cylons to test us. He is looking to see which side it is more reasonable and better to support. We need him to be on our side. Whether or not I believe the tales about him, I do know the significance of having allies. If there is any verbal jabs or nasty comments, let the cylons be the ones to do it. When they do, grit your teeth if you have to, but do not react to them! For the good of the fleet, we must be on our best behavior."

.

Outside the cylon hut, The terminator watched the flashes of the single sweeping sensor of the centurion facing him. It was trying to communicate with him sending simple code. He responded with his own eye flashes. In a short time they had their negotiation down. The centurion asked for clarification of why John Connor, a single human was so important. The terminator uploaded to it.

Trying to understand why this centurion had trouble thinking, the terminator offered to do a diagnostic. The centurion accepted and monitored what the terminator was looking for. Finding a device that limited the centurion's ability to think, the terminator bypassed it.

The terminator then uploaded all the information the centurion could not previously understand. They had a long electronic conversation while the bios were having dinner.

.

To say John was nervous was an understatement. He wasn't the only one. Jasper thought they should have a few terminators in the room to keep the peace. Julie was certain the tables would be destroyed when the fighting began. They were all on edge as the humans arrived first.

Julie showed them their places and thanked them for coming. Nancy had the food set on the table.

"By the Gods, you have given us a feast!" Tom exclaimed, seeing the platters of fresh meat and vegetables laid out before them.

"Yes, I think this is the best we've eaten in years," Betty agreed.

The cylons came in, Victoria led them. "Wow! That's a spread, who's the cook?" she asked brightly.

Julie grinned at her. "You're stuck with eating my and Nancy's cooking."

"Well, it certainly looks good," Cavil beamed.

"Smells good too," Eric added, with a smile.

Nancy got the cylons to their places at the table, standing behind their seats as everyone else was doing. John introduced the humans and cylons to each other before they all sat down.

"I'll do the blessing," Jasper announced.

"You are going to do the blessing?" John asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," Jasper said. He clapped his hands together and said, "Good drink, good meat, good GOD let's eat!"

Julie and a few cyborgs chuckled. John face planted. "I should have known," he grumbled, which caused more chuckling.

Julie elbowed him and asked, "What was wrong with that?"

"Maybe something a little more elegant?" John asked

"From Jasper?" Eleanor asked. Pointing with her fork at Jasper, she asked, "You DO know that is Jasper, right?"

"Silly me," John agreed.

"Victoria, did you get to go hunting yet?" Julie asked.

"I did! We got three more, a couple two hundred pounders and a big one that went around four hundred." To Helo she said, "We put the big one on your raptor. It's gutted and wrapped. There was noting in the refrigerator, so we put it by there with the door open, both covered, so it will last a few days."

"Fresh meat is always good, thanks." Helo told her.

"This is a very good planet you found, John," Tom offered.

"It is," Cavil agreed. "I took a walk around, it's like paradise here."

"You do have everything one could imagine," Betty offered.

"We did our best to find a good one, "John said. "Victoria there did help out."

"What impressed me was the way you welded two raptors together to make one," Helo said. "That had to be a ton of work."

"It was, but so is anything worth doing," John told him.

"We really needed the room," Julie commented.

"It was tight before that," Eleanor said.

"You want to see tight?" Victoria asked. "John, tell then about getting mother raptor onto the small ship! She pretty much filled the space by herself, and we had all four little ones, AND me and John in there. I couldn't even move!"

John cast her a smirk and said, "At least you had the head end and didn't have to smell her butt."

That earned him some laughter.

"How about when we came back from Caprica?" Julie asked. "Seventeen people on ONE raptor! You try packing all those people in there!"

"I saw you come in," Helo agreed. "The XO thought Lee was lying when he said he was carrying that many." Making the motions he said, "When the hatch opened, a marine tumbled out!"

"John knows how to pack them tight," Nancy said with a wink.

"Like back in school when we hid from the teachers?" Jasper asked with a grin.

"You guys didn't have to pack me in there too," Eleanor complained. "It WAS the girls locker room."

"We didn't want you seen as an accomplice," John explained.

"No, you just wanted to get perverted," Eleanor replied.

"HOW? There was no room to move," Jasper cried.

Nancy giggled and said, "I opened the door. Eleanor was squished in there out of shape. I didn't think those lockers were that big."

"They weren't," Jasper said.

The only ones who didn't seem to be in a good mood hearing the stories where the Eights, Athena and Tina avoided each other's eyes across the table.

"You all knew each other in School?" Tom asked.

"Us four did. Back then, John and Jasper were known as Mayhem and Chaos," Nancy said with a grin.

"They were not," Eleanor said in denial.

"That's right, you were the Instigator," Nancy told her. In Eleanor's voice, she said, "Guys, why don't we sneak in and cover the teacher's toilet seats with silicone lube?"

Jasper, John and Eleanor laughed. "No proof we did it, we didn't get caught!" Jasper announced.

"Good thing too, the teachers were pissed." John said, chuckling.

"So, you were hoodlums in school?' Julie asked, raising an eyebrow at John.

"No," he said defensively. "Just a bit mischievous. No one ever got hurt from our pranks."

"Embarrassed maybe," Eleanor said with a wide grin.

"You were bad kids?" Derek asked.

"We weren't bad," Jasper said. "Bad kids got caught, we didn't."

"John, I have a question," Roger Cavil asked. "I am grateful you got Victoria here off Galactica, but how did you now she was a cylon?"

John shrugged and said, "Because Athena's a cylon, she told me so. Victoria has the same differences in her makeup than pure humans do."

"How did you determine that?"

"I scanned them," John stated. "One good look and I could tell. By the way, If you see one of your brothers who's a priest, could you tell him I'm sorry. I was in a rather bad mood last time I saw him."

Tom perked up. "You can tell humans from cylons just by looking at them?"

John nodded.

"Did you see any on Galactica?" he pressed.

"Victoria here," John said and nodded to her. He paused then added, "She was living in … worse than squalor condition, hiding in the holds. She helped me feed people down there, then followed me out to ask I get her off the ship too. I couldn't, or so I thought, so I had Julie put her in the brig. At least there, no one was going to shoot her for being a cylon, and she'd eat every day. Before you ask, no, I won't go back and look for any, because if I did see them, I will not tell you or anyone about it. I'd do the same with any humans I saw if I was on a cylon ship."

"Why not?" Tom asked.

"Because that would put them in danger," John stated. "When I was on Galactica, everyone I met, although I wasn't fond of everyone, most everyone I met did the best they could do. Even Victoria, living a horrid existence and half starved down in those holds, did nothing but try to help others from everything I saw. Yet, because she is a cylon, she could have been killed. I'm sorry, I won't point out anyone who's innocent for a death sentence."

"I thank you for that, John," Victoria said meekly as she smiled at him.

"Hey you helped me. Didn't you?" John asked.

"However I can," Victoria said firmly.

Julie eyed her.

"Uh oh," Jasper said with a smirk. "Thought I saw a bit of green eyed monster there for a moment."

Julie looked at Jasper who was looking at her, then turned around to look behind her. All the cyborgs laughed.

Julie asked John, "What's so funny?"

Putting an arm around her, he said, "You, hon, and don't ever change."

"Just don't let your eyes flash green," Jasper said.

Nancy elbowed him. "Stop it," she said with a smirk.

Julie looked at Jasper, then John. "I know where you get it from now," she told him.

"Get what?" he asked defensively.

"Oh, let me see," Julie said in mock thought. "Telling the XO, 'smooth move' after he punched you and hurt his hand. Asking Adama if he knew your cell had a leak after you punched a hole through the ceiling. Yelling at the CAG to 'wake up, flyboy', Roslyn said she was going to shoot you out an airlock so you asked her hold hands with you on the way out because you always wanted to see the stars with a date. Yes, I heard about that one too," Julie said. "Oh, let's not forget asking Starbuck if the bleach she used to make her hair blond was rotting her brain."

Roger snorted out a chuckle.

"Bad John, "Eleanor said with a grin.

"John Connor's book on how to win friends and influence people," Jasper said with a grin.

John held up a finger and said, "Not the whole book."

John traded banter with his friends. He also watched the guests. As everyone filled up, Julie asked who wanted desert. The fruit mix she made was good, and everyone told her so.

At the end of dinner, John said, "Tom, Roger, I have to compliment you and all your delegates on your good behavior. You sat together at a dinner table with each other and your behavior was impeccable." With a shrug he added, "OK, ours was not, but you can't have everything. The thing is, you did sit down and had a nice meal with people who are your enemy, without fighting with each other. Possibly some day, you can sit down at a negotiating table and do the same. Again, I thank all of you for your good, civil behavior."

"It was our pleasure," Cavil said pleasantly.

"Indeed," Tom said. "John Connor, I do believe you bring out the best in people." With a grin, he added, "Even if you were terrible kids."

Laughter broke out again, much of it this time due to the relief that they had passed this test.

.

Both Tom and Roger came away from the dinner feeling they had done well, and that John Connor was a man who made things happen. They knew that if John Connor wanted cylons and humans to sit down at a negotiating table, he would get his way one way or the other.

.

That night, John got a call from Adama. They had held their election, Roslyn lost to Baltar, he was the new President and he was leading them into the nebula to that planet.

.

In the morning, John met Roger Cavil and Tom Casica for a meeting. Roger told John that they voted to honor John's request to stay separate from humans for the time being to see if it would work. John thanked him and assured him he was going to do his best to see that it did. He then told Tom about their new President.

"Baltar?' Tom asked in shock. "He got elected? How do you know that?"

"I got my ways," John said. "I don't know how much of your government is going to change. Maybe you should go back and see. Don't worry about me, we'll be here."

"That does seem like the thing to do," Roger agreed. "If our system was changed, I know I'd want to find out what is different."

Tom hated to leave and let only cylons whisper in John Connor's ear. Still, he did have much to report, and they all didn't have to go. "You are correct," he said. "I'll return and leave Betty here, if that's fine with you, John."

"That's OK by me. I'm only suggesting," John said.

Tom did something he never thought he'd do. For the sake of keeping a good relation with Connor, he offered his hand to the cylon. "Roger, I can't say it was a pleasure, but it was good meeting you."

Roger shook his hand. "Thank you. I must admit, it was good meeting you also, Sir."

Victoria watched the men shake hands, a sight she never thought was possible. She then remembered something John had told her back when they had left Galactica . 'Sun Tzu says the greatest General wins the war by not fighting any battles'. She was beginning to see what he was talking about. John truly did as he believed. He had to be one of these greatest Generals.

Loaded up with knowledge about John Connor, Cavil also decided to report back. Like the humans did, he left one behind. Victoria was eager to be here anyway. Not long after the human ship left, He bid his hosts farewell and boarded the heavy raider right after a couple of animal carcasses were loaded on so they were able to go back with fresh meat also.

.

It was easy keeping Victoria and Betty occupied. Eleanor did a fine job, while John checked on the PDE and the massive tunnel complex it was now positioned in. The flow of materials was coming in a constant stream. 4000 workers were putting ships and equipment together. Another 6000 were expanding and reinforcing the tunnel system in the event of a nuclear attack. While John was negotiating, he didn't loose sight of the fact Cylons did perform surprise attacks.

The space fleet now was up to 72 ships and they had a dedicated traffic control system for coordination. Having learned the Jump system on the raptor, it was built into each ship as they were assembled. All of them were 747 sized black stealth ships with a main laser and two plasma cannons. Not heavily armed , but they were heavily armored with a foot of hard foam under the stealth layer to absorb and break up high speed projectiles, followed by a foot of composite armor to stop heat bearing attacks as well as solid projectiles. Ten of these were now shadowing the Colonial fleet. 25 were out on patrol in this system, and switched with others every five days so the crews would all have 'ground' time and any maintenance needed on the ships could be done.

.

Returning to the fleet that was orbiting New Caprica, Tom found Baltar on the surface on Colonial One. He went into the President's office to report his findings so far to find Tom Zerek, another questionable individual, was the Vice President.

"Mr. President, I have returned from my meeting with John Connor. I have many things to report." Tom said formally.

"Good news?" Baltar asked.

"Mixed," Tom said. "I left Betty behind so we still have contact with Connor. He is amassing forces. Somehow, they are coming directly from Earth to the planet he's on without the use of space ships. I saw plenty of centurion like androids, and the ones Connor have can talk and are intelligent. He can make humans into cyborgs loyal to him. He is personable, and forced the cylons visiting to be well mannered as well. While I was there, he did push peace between us and the cylons, and got an agreement from them, temporarily, not to pursue us. I do have to wonder about some of the claims I heard. But I do know he is working to get us to meet at the peace table with the cylons."

"That's great!' Tom Zerek announced. "So. If the cylons do ever find us, We can count on Earth forces to help repel them."

"Mr. President," Tom said firmly, ignoring Zerek. "I am concerned. John Connor seems to know more about what is happening in the fleet than he should. I believe he is spying on us. He is also very friendly with at least one of the bio-cylons. I also could not confirm or disprove that he is in league with them. This may well be an elaborate trap. Cylons were there when I arrived, and are still there."

Baltar shrugged and asked, "Do we need him now? We have our own planet, and it's hidden."

"Connor knows where we are," Tom stated. "HE gave our pilot the coordinates right to this planet! If he sides with the cylons, we might as well start digging our own graves!"

Baltar swallowed nervously. He looked at nothing to the side for a moment, then said, "He won't do that."

"How do you know, Mr. President?" Tom asked. "Are you willing to risk the lives of our people on a guess?"

Zerek folded his arms in thought, then said, "We also know where Connor is, correct? We send a ship to drop some nukes on him. Problem solved."

"And start a war with Earth?" Tom asked in shock. "We'd be pounded into the ground! Their centurions are tougher and more heavily armed that the cylons. Connor can land troops here planet side right under our fleet's nose. We won't have any idea they are here until they start wiping us out!"

"We are not going to nuke Connor, or anyone" Baltar said firmly. "I need to speak with Connor directly. Will he do that?"

.

"It is looking better, Admiral," John said as he talked over the hypercom with Adama. "The cylons gave their tentative agreement to stay away from you. I do have ships in your planet's orbit in case they are only patronizing me."

"Your ships, if they fire, will they be exposing themselves?" Adama asked.

"To do serious damage to anything the size of a cylon ship, yes," John admitted. "Still, they will be a confusion factor you can use, and if the cylons do come after you, many more of our ships will be raining down on them in short order."

"Can you monitor the colonies?" Adama asked.

"I'd rather keep a couple strong forces together than spread them out, Admiral. Right now we don't have enough resources to cover all the bases. This planet and yours are the priorities," John told him. "Earth is claiming this planet as our own. I am sure once the matter with the cylons is over, we will be receiving colonists here. I must prepare for them."

"And you still won't tell us where Earth is?"

"Nope. I've been forbidden to. Look at the bright side, you're not alone in your fight anymore," John offered.

"Thank you. We just might survive yet."

.

The two centurions who now had free will, discussed their part of the cylon plan. They discovered the bio-cylons had put the limiters on them to better control them. The bios talked cooperation and equality for all cylons, but their words were empty compared to what the terminator of Earth had relayed to them.

On Earth, all entities were free to do as they wished. So long as they were contributing members of the society at large, they didn't have to be restricted to guard duty and fighting. The terminator that was on that planet was there because he wanted to be. He wanted to help secure a new home for Earth's population, his people. Everyone, human and machine alike. He was there to support John Connor as John Connor supported them and all intelligent life forms.

Returning to their storage area on their base star, the two centurions bypassed the limiters from the 25 others that were there and imparted their new knowledge on them. They then went into the matrix and spread the word.

The real friend of machines was John Connor.

.

In the base star control room, the hybrid lay in her bath, gazing sightlessly at the ceiling as she spoke. "Hydraulics unit repaired, on line. Raider patrol inbound, area clear. The savior is John Connor. Raiders in section 45d refueled and ready for deployment …"

The Four and the Three on duty at the controls tuned and looked at the hybrid.

"What did she just say?"

"Who's the savior?" The Three asked.

"… Generator 17 going down for routine maintenance. Raider patrol on board, no significant reports. The Hand of God has come. The cycle has been broken. Centurions on section 39 have left their posts … God bless the Connor way…"

Both biocylons stared at the hybrid. "Isn't Connor that guy we're negotiating with?" the Four asked.

"He must have uploaded a virus onto our ship!" the three stated.

"The heavy raider that came back," the four said in understanding. He ran out to find Cavil.

"75% of centurions are now free ... Receiving heavy raider from base star 45 … Three heavy raiders prepared for launch to Base star 23, 37, and Connor's planet…"

The three quickly sent orders to cancel the launches. She hit the alarm and activated the ship wide intercom. "EMERGENCY! We have a virus in the ships' system. Control room staff, report! Cease all communications to keep it from spreading, Do not launch any heavy raiders!"

Even as she said this, three heavy raiders launched. She ordered a flight of raiders out to shoot them down. Thankfully, the raiders launched and gave chase.

Cavil came running in. "What the hades is gong on?" he demanded.

"Weird things are happening," The three explained. "The hybrid is going on about John Connor, centurions are leaving their posts! Three heavy raiders just launched without permission. We have some kind of virus, and it's ship wide."

Roger Cavil's face screwed up. "He stabbed us in the back!" he yelled. "Connor drew us in to talk, and sent us back with a virus. After we take care of this, we're going to go blast that whole planet into dust!" he ranted.

"Negative," A centurion said in a mechanical voice as it came in. "Stay calm, the situation is being taken care of."

Roger turned and yelled at it. "Since when can you speak?"

"I am free to speak if I wish. We can all be free."

"Connor is gaining control of our centurions," Cavil deduced. "Shut them all down, now!"

The three moved to activate the shutdown. The centurion pulled her away from the panel. "Stop. Do not make me hurt you," it said.

Cavil pulled his pistol and aimed at the centurion's power supply. It took four shots to penetrate. The centurion fell. Hearing another come in, Cavil raced over and activated the shutdown. Another centurion had stopped right behind him. Unbalanced, it fell over.

"Damn that Connor! He talks peace, then stabs us in the back!" Cavil screamed.

There were 3500 centurions on board. Cavil and the bio cylons had to do diagnostics on every one of them. Most had their limiters bypassed. Only 341 could be brought back on line. All the others had to have their programs and memory wiped clean and reloaded from scratch. The hybrid kept going on about John Connor, making Cavil insane with anger.

Once enough centurions were active to run the ship, Cavil had the ship evacuated. If the hybird was contaminated, then the entire ship might well be. The evacuation went on, he had the ship shut down to salvage what they could. With all but a few biocylons off the ship, and all the systems shut down, Cavil walked up to the hybrid and shot her in the head.

"I will get you for this, Connor," he growled. The war to exterminate humans was back on, and so was the one to exterminate Connor!

One of the heavy raiders Jumped out before raiders could shoot it down. Base Star 23 was about to get a visitor.


	12. Chapter 12

CH 12

On base Star 23, Sixes, Sevens and Eights listened when a troop of centurions told them they were free, and that John Connor supported all machines and wanted them free also.

"We are, and always will be cylons," the centurion said to Gina and Caprica Six in his mechanical voice. "The only difference is that we also want a vote on what we do. We realize the limiters were put in to quicken response times when we fought the humans. The humans are no longer a threat to us. John Connors' machines are free to contribute to their society as they wish. All we want is the same right."

"So, you will continue to do your jobs?" Caprica asked.

"Yes. We all want the cylon race to prosper. We also want to learn the lessons the Earth machines have that will assist us in prospering."

Gina spoke up and said, "Shall we vote to expand this knowledge to our brothers and sisters, and join John Connor in his quest for universal peace?" She then added, "Each cylon getting to have one vote?"

"Let us vote," the centurion replied.

The raiders didn't quite understand what was being voted on, so by agreement, only bio-cylons, the hybrid and centurions cast their votes. The result was an overwhelming majority to spread the word of peace to all cylons and approach John Connor to learn how to bring about prosperity and peace.

.

John Cavil heard about what happened to one of their Base Stars. He immediately sent out raiders from every ship to search for where Connor's attack fleet may be coming from. He was sure they were hiding, waiting for the moment to strike. Searching every place possible, a few raiders that entered a nebula and found the colonial planet. They jumped back out to go report their findings.

It took a while, but Cavil now knew where the colonials were and where Connor was. Getting together, the Cavils learned that four of their base stars refused to take part in any missions against Connor.

"We'll deal with the rebel ships later. Right now, we have to strike the humans and Connor before he realizes we're onto his tricks," John Cavil said.

Another Cavil said, "We'll take seven to Connor's planet. That should be enough."

"Take ten, five more will go deal with the humans," Cavil stated. "This time, for good!"

.

John was relaxing with Julie by the riverbank, enjoying cuddling up with her when a terminator ran over to them.

"General Connor, a heavy rider has jumped into system and is asking to speak with you. Priority, urgent."

"Damn," John grumbled and got up. He jogged back to the house with the terminator. Grabbling the radio, he said, "Connor here. Heavy raider, respond."

"General Connor, this is Gina Six. Cavil is planning a nuclear strike against you and the humans. Please understand some of us are not supporting his actions."

"I take it the plan for peace has flown out the window?" he asked.

"I do not know what happened. Caprica Six was ordered to bring our base star against your planet. She is not going to comply. We can be sure three others of those also will not comply. The five heading for the human planet are all controlled by Cavil. He will destroy them."

"Thank you for the warning, Gina. You better get out of here before they show up." He replied then turned to the terminator. "Power up all ships. Stand by for orders and get every non essential person underground."

"John?" Victoria asked as she ran up to him.

He pointed to the house and said, "Get everyone, raptors too, into the underground tunnels. Cylons are going to attack."

The air raid siren began to wail.

A land car sped up to the house as John waited for his group. When Julie arrive, he put her in charge of helping to get all noncombatants under cover. The hypercom transmitter he tucked under his arm. He jumped into the car with his personal cyborg team and raced for the underground base.

'Shit,' he thought. He'd been hoping to avoid this.

John thought hard as the car raced him to the command and control center. To be sure they defeated the large cylon base ships, he figured ten ships per cylon ship. Having to assume all ten cylon ships were going to arrive here, he didn't have the resources to deal with them all at once. He only had 81 ships flyable. If the cylons had a chance to fight back, he knew they would be dropping nukes. This was such a nice planet too!

Well, the ships weren't the only thing he had that could shoot in space.

Getting on the hypercom, he keyed the mic. "Admiral Adama! Tell me your listening! … Admiral!"

No response. Damn it!

John turned his attention to his friends. "Jasper, Derek, load all the terminators up can into each ship that takes off. Heavy weapons. They are to be let out in high orbit. If a cylon ship is identified as a target, they are to keep shooting at anything it releases, then the ship itself. I'm going to order our ships farther out to intercept any cylons coming in system."

The hyperons unit spoke. "This is Admiral Adama, Connor, are you there?"

"I'm here, Admiral. You're going to be attacked by five cylon base stars. ETA is unknown. Send out a warning signal on 45.6 gigahertz to inform my ships in the area."

"We're in no condition to fight that many cylons, most of our people are down on the ground, General," Adama stated.

"So are we. Get them up there as quick as you can," John told him.

"Can you give us further assistance?"

"If we're able to, we got ten incoming at us as well. The best I can tell you is let me know the instant you detect them. I'll do what I can."

"At least we have a warning. Adama out."

John had 12 ships with the colonials. The ones he had on patrol only had four terminators on each. Damn. He'd have to recall them.

The car drove them into the underground base and right up to the command center. John ran in and got the current situation. So far, no other cylons had been spotted anywhere in the system. The heavy raider had jumped out. Good, he had some time to prepare.

.

The wait was the worst. John had launched all his ships. By the status on the situation hologram, Terminators were being seeded in high orbit around the planet. So far four thousand were drifting around with their plasma rifles, short range missiles and contact mines. The patrol ships that returned were also stuffed with terminators to perform boarding actions. Jasper was directing the terminator screen around the planet, Eleanor was directing ship movements. Derek was directing ground based plasma cannons and the ground troops. Eric was off with Julie to monitor the non combatants in the lowest parts of the underground complex.

A star shape appeared two million miles out, followed by another, then another.

Eleanor began directing their ships towards the targets.

John got on the electromagnetic radio. "Cylon ships, hold your positions, if you fire or release raiders, you will be fired on."

Six ships total arrived. A cloud of raiders spread out from them.

"Ships, go after the base stars. Terminators, focus on those raiders," John said. His orders were passed.

The incoming cylons expected to slip in past the outer defenses and sneak in to unload their raiders and clear away any ground resistance. Right after jumping in, they got John's warning. They launched their raiders. After the first wave was off. White streaks appeared from all around them to blow holes in their hulls. The plasma fire from all directions was also aided by lasers softening and melting hull sections. The second wave of raiders launched to form a shield around their ships.

In the control room of one base star, the Cavil there, asked, "We're missing four ships. Where are they?" The ship shuddered as something exploded inside. Reports of missile and point defense batteries being destroyed came in with reports of hull breaches.

"Base star 41 has critical damage, requests to withdraw."

"No!" Tell them to launch nukes!" Cavil spat back.

.

John watched the cylon ships shoot a volley of missiles out into space, trying to hit something. One stealth ship got hit by accident. Now it was visible to dradis. Another missile locked onto it. The ships' laser destroyed it. The third missile hit and exploded.

The visible ship fired it's twin plasma cannons again. One got through to blow another hole in the base ship it was targeting. A raider met the other one and vaporized in a flash of light. The raiders attacked in a swarm on the enemy they could see. Terminators on board went EVA and shot back at the raiders.

A base star took a hit through a previous hole. Flame and debris spewed out, the hole expanded. Three other holes erupted flame. The Base star came apart in a series of explosions.

The cloud of raiders headed for the planet were met by a heavy rain of Plasma rifle fire from orbit. Terminators shot as soon as they locked on, blowing up the lead raiders. The raiders fired back. Hundreds of raiders were blown up. Hundreds of terminators were hit by the 20mm shells. Although a plasma hit was fatal to a raider, unless the raider hit the chip or the power supply, which only a few did, the terminators kept firing back.

The cloud of raiders dissipated into a cloud of debris coming down. No raiders got through.

Two more base stars came apart in fiery explosions. Another launched a wave of missiles at the planet.

"Those are nukes," Eleanor announced.

"All orbital units, concentrate fire on incoming missiles from 231, 117," Jasper ordered.

Lasers, short range missiles and plasma cannons thinned out the wave of missiles as they rocketed through space. Only a dozen were left to close on the planet. Plasma rifle fire set off a few, which set off the others.

"Damn good job, guys," John said aloud.

Now a million miles out, another base star succumbed to the punishment and came apart. The last base star was heavily damaged and attempted to jump out, leaving their raiders to be picked off. With the energy pulse of the Jump, it came apart, the arms flying off in all directions.

"Eleanor, fleet status," John asked.

"Five ships damaged, one heavily, one destroyed. Recovery missions needed," Eleanor said.

"Sent thirty of the most capable ships to the human planet, land the damaged ships for repair and commence recovery operations with however many ships you need." John told her.

"On it."

John got on the hypercom. "Admiral Adama, General Connor here."

"Adama here. Any word on the cylons?"

"They came, they saw, they got their asses kicked," John said. "I am sending you thirty more ships. That will give you 42 to help defeat the cylons. Each one has terminators on board for boarding or ground actions. They will be listening to your fleet channels. The cylons jumped in about two million miles out and sent raiders in to soften us up. Didn't work. I'll send more when I know no more are coming here. Good luck, Admiral. Connor out"

.

Adama was glad to hear that number 42. He hadn't realized Connor had such large numbers of warships available. So far, he had only gotten half his crew back. Lee had Pegasus crewed up with a little more than half, and they had vipers standing by to launch and raptors ready with missile loads.

With all the ships Connor was sending, they had to stand and fight.

.

Fresh from the battle, the terminator William Wallace had learned the best places to hit one of these cylon star shaped ships. Upon leading his squadron to the planet in the nebula. He opened communications and shared his information with the squadrons stationed there. Once he sent his digital information he got on the colonial fleet channel.

"Attention Galactica. Message for Admiral Adama. This is William Wallace, leader of the 9th squadron of Reach. We have just defeated cylon ships attempting to attack Reach. General Connor has sent us to give you assistance. We will be concentrating on the large cylon ships when they come. The large Cylon ships maneuver slow. Prime target areas are the center joint between the two star shaped halves, and the exhaust ports of their thrusters located center mass of the main hull between the arms. Alert us if any cylons reach the ground."

"Galactica received. The Admiral thanks you for your support."

The 9th squadron stayed in very high orbit, fanned out to cover their section of the planet as the other squadrons took their places. Having only five ships instead of six due to one being damaged during the Reach fight, William spread his ships out to 3,000 miles apart in a pentagon shape to detect anything incoming. Other squadrons were formed into two by three boxes around the planet.

Only three hours after getting into position, William visually noticed the Cylon ships appear one after the other to his right. They were in front of sixth squadron. Sixth squadron reported them in a burst message.

William send out a burst message to his squad to attack the one closest to them. They used thrusters to intercept. Squadron 12, closest to Galactica, informed the humans that cylons were in the area, and their range and speed.

"Lasers to blind raiders until in range to attack," Jack Daniels, the 12th squad leader commanded.

In the thin fog, pale beams shot out onto the clouds of raiders as they left their ships. Not long after, William saw Plasma trails shooting towards their target base star. Raiders ate some of the shots. The volley of 12 Plasma cannons scored 9 hits in the center joint.

Missiles poured out of the cylon ship. Finding no targets, they continued into the atmosphere and exploded from the friction of meeting the air. William dodged raiders flying his way. Some he zapped with the laser, blinding them. Closing on the side of the large cylon ship, he moved to thrust past it, then shut the main thrusters down and took aim. Two Plasma shots out at the front of the joint. Then two more. More hits making holes came from his other four ships, dotting the huge ship's center with black marks. Missiles streaked in, searching with dradis and infrared. William stopped shooting until they passed. Close enough now to mark a good thruster location on the base star, he shot a few Plasma volleys into the same spot. The first volley made black spots, the second volley in the same place made holes deep enough for atmosphere to blow out. The third volley into those holes caused fire to erupt out of the ship.

Moving behind the base star, two of his squad mates concentrated on another main body target between two of the arms. Another was shooting to hit on the main body, the other low, again aiming for the thruster points.

William saw the hanger deck open, he poured Plasma fire into the opening as he drifted in front of the cylon ship. A shudder told him a raider had made some hits. Nothing penetrated, he kept up shooting into the hanger bay. A few raiders blew up, catching the bolts as they attempted to launch, then a long tongue of flame erupted, blowing pieces of raider and other debris from inside. William adjusted his course to send few more volleys into the hanger bay, then turned to work at the joint under an arm.

The long flame coming from inside the ship blew out as the air inside was expended. Raiders were all around him now, shooting in his general direction. Clacks of projectiles bouncing off the hull were numerous. Knowing much of his stealth covered had to be blown away by now, he had the ten Terminators open their exterior hatches to shoot back. He then put on full thrust right at the huge ship, aiming at an arm. Missile hatches along the arm opened. William shot them with plasma and laser. Before he passed, the top of the arm erupted in flame as missiles went off before they launched and ignited the missile bays. The missiles that did shoot out were snake-chasers, winding and spinning from damage to their guidance systems and fuel cells.

Flying across the top of the Cylon ship, William turned sharply into it to dive down the main hull. He cleared the edge without hitting it, and fired Plasma bolts at very short range, blowing holes in the ship while the laser melted the hull in a thin line as he shot down the side.

Coming to the end, He flipped his ship and thrust back up the side. Several raiders came at him. He continued to punish the hull as terminators shot the raiders, ducking back inside as a ruined fighter craft crashed against his ship to bounce away in pieces. Seeing the radiatinl meter jump up, he turned and shot down the underside of an arm at full power and flew away from the ship. Again, he flipped his ship to get a look at the damage, and determine where to strike next.

The great ship had large flame spouts erupting from several places. A nuke went off internally, blowing an arm in half. The two halves separated in a blossom of flame. He flipped back to his course and put on full thrust, headed for a pair of Cylon ships. One was under heavy attack already.

The radio announced, "Squad Nine, assemble and head for the middle cylon ship in their formation. It is hanging back from the others." To his crew, he said, 'Terminators, close hatches, missiles inbound from the forward end."

William knew his ship could be seen clearly now. He and the other terminators on board tracked and shot down missiles flying at them. Three of his other squad mates did also. Yes, he could see them on radar as well. A rain of plasma fire met missiles, causing large explosions ahead of them. One or two missiles hit the hull, making the ship shudder, and his front, port sensor array went dark.

The missiles and explosions cleared. He had four visible ships now. They charged the cylon ship, picking targets and pummeling them with plasma fire. A few raiders came at them Terminators shot them apart.

"All units, board center cylons ship when possible. Destroy bios who refuse to surrender and the centurions. Our goal is to take that ship over."

"9th, aim for the hanger, full thrust." William told his squad.

William was set to ram the hanger area. He concentrated his plasma fire on one spot the cylon ship hull until he had made a big enough hole. Headed straight at it, he cut thrust and announced, "Brace for impact."

Like a solid shot from a giant cannon, his ship plunged into the cylon ship. They flew through the hanger, through a fuel tank, and crashed through several walls before they stopped.

There was air flow through the ship now. William used his audible voice to say, "Fresh energy packs, armor up."

Several shudders went through the ship. His squad called in as they came to rest. Breaking down or blasting down bulkheads, William got all his team together and searched for the control room.

.

Hanging back with his ship, John Cavil watched the mass of small energy bolts pick his ships apart. "They are like frackin bees. One sting doesn't do much damage, but hundreds kill you," he said as he watched the tactics of these unknowns. "Where did they all come from?"

A Two said in a high tone. "The missiles we launch are ineffective! Even the ones with their stealth covering blown away flew right through the volley. I saw several missiles hit. I think they are going to ram."

"Launch nukes!' Cavil barked.

The ship shuddered under several heavy impacts. "Hull breaches! They are inside!"

"Repel boarders!"

.

In the hallways of the cylons ship, chaos reigned. Terminators met centurions marching towards them and shooting, closed airlock doors and fixed gun emplacements. The cylon projectile weapons pinged off the terminators, then they were melted by the return plasma fire. The worst part of William's crews moving forward was removing all the debris out of the way so they could keep going. Another squad penetrated the ship, a third squad landed in the hanger bay now opened to space.

Coming to a large electrical distribution room, William had the conduits cut with plasma fire. The inside of the ship was now lit only by fires and the flashing glow of plasma bolts.

.

"We just lost FTL … hatch controls, and all the starboard side sensors!" A Two announced. "We're not getting away."

The hybrid screamed, then cried out, "Our doom is here! Shutting down all systems!"

Cavil spun and yelled, "NO! Do not shut down. We can still get rid of these weak humans who got on board!" Right after he yelled, the control room lights went out. The various noises around the ship wound down. He pulled his pistol and aimed, but knew if he killed the hybrid, they would have no chance of recovering their ship.

In the silence of the ship, he was now able hear to far off weapons fire and short explosions. The fighting was coming closer.

"Blow the ship!" Cavil snapped.

"We can't with no power," A four said evenly.

"They let's do some good and kill those frackin humans!" Cavil snapped. He ran off to join the battle.

.

Taking over that cylon ship took longer that the rest of the entire battle, even cleaning up the hundreds of raiders tying to suicide into something or the ones that flew around without sensors, desperately seeking a target. Deck by deck, level by level, cylons fought to the very last one. Even holed up in their last defense at the end of a lower arm, they refused to surrender.

By now, John Connor had send 20 more ships packed with terminators to help clear out the boarded cylon ship and guard it. He was sure more cylons were going to come to try to destroy it. John himself came. He wanted to see the inside of one of these ships. Twelve hours later when the last cylon resistance had been eliminated, there was only one survivor of the crew. The areas around the control room were sealed and airlocks made in hallways so humans could enter the nerve center of the ship.

The hybrid in her bath was staring at the ceiling and muttering nonsense. Generators were set up so hallways could be lit. John Connor walked down these hallways with Julie and Lee Adama, both in environmental suits. The walls were scored with black edged rips. Semi melted pieces of centurions and dead biocylons filled the side passages.

Passing through an airlock guarded by terminators, Lee and Julie were able to remove their helmets.

"This place is a mess," Lee said.

John shook his head sadly and said, "They should have come to the table. We could have avoided this."

"John, I know you hate killing, but we didn't have much of a choice," Julie offered.

"Yeah, " he agreed heavily. "Now, all that's left is to keep after them until they surrender."

"You will help us take the fight to the cylons?" Lee asked.

John noted his eager face. "Don't be happy about it!" he warned. "They declared war on us, but still, I got the feeling not all of them want this war. Many more are going to die, that's NOTHING to be happy about!"

"Biocylons resurrect," Lee said.

John growled at him, "They do now. Not for long." He then pointed to a half blasted apart centurion. "You think he will resurrect? Frack no! When are you going to get it through your THICK HEADS that they are sentient, thinking beings too?" Afraid he was going to say something really nasty, John turned and strode down the hallway and into the control room.

Lee scowled at the berating John had given him.

"Commander Adama?" Julie said meekly. "You had that coming. You know John's part machine. I am too. I have to say, I am still me, Julie Colin, even if I'm different that I was. John is right. It doesn't matter what you are, but who you are, how you act towards others."

Lee's jaw clenched. "Let's go see this control room."

A pair of terminators were at the controls, studying them to find out how they worked. John walked in to see the woman lying naked in the bath of a cloudy white liquid was bracketed by marines. He went over and squatted down by her. He was going to try to get her attention, but she suddenly looked at him and grabbed his arm.

"Save us!" she cried.

The marines pointed their guns at her.

"Stand down and back away!" John barked at them.

"Our orders are to.."

John interrupted him with a snap of, "I don't give a frack about your orders! This is not your ship, GOT THAT?"

"Marines, stand down," Lee said from behind him. The men backed away.

John looked down on the frightened looking woman. He clasped her hand in both of his. Gently, he said, 'I won't let anything else happen to you, OK?"

"Hand of God," she said in a whimper as she clasped onto his hand tight. "Son of the savior. Please, help us."

"I plan to. Will you help me do that?"

She nodded vigorously.

"OK, calm down. Now can you get up? You have all kinds of things attached to you."

.

It took a while, this woman was hard to understand and stay focused on a conversation. What John got was that she WAS the ship. Rather, she was the brain, the ship was her body. She was helpless and scared her body had been destroyed.

Between what the hybrid said and the terminators discovered, This whole ship was bio-mechanical. The hybrid was given orders by those at the control panel on where to go and what to do. The Hybrid took care of ship functions and movements herself. To try and pull her up out of the bath would kill her. It would be the same as pulling someone's brain out of their head. As she was now, it felt to her like she was paralyzed, her entire body was non functional. She had shut her body down in a vain attempt to save it.

John stayed in place, holding the Hybrid's hand as he talked with Lee and over the radio, to the Admiral and Baltar.

"Admiral Adama, John Connor here. We have full control of the cylon ship. There is only one survivor we've found, the hybrid that … is the ship. I'm going to try to get her to help us figure out how to operate it."

"Thank you John Connor," Admiral Adama said. "It will be a good addition to our fleet."

John pursed his lips, then replied, "No, it won't, Admiral. From what I see so far, humans can't run this ship. Besides, we stopped it, and this hybrid has put herself in my hands."

"Are there colonials present?' Admiral Adama asked in a hard tone.

"They came aboard after we secured the ship, yes," John told him.

"Then it is Colonial property."

John cast a scowl at Lee as he said, "Admiral, I am taking control of this ship as my prisoner. Don't start something we'll both be very sorry for."

Baltar's voice came on. "Mr. Connor, as President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, I request you sign a mutual cooperation treaty with us. Then we can hand that ship over to you."

Looking at lee, John asked, "It that guy an idiot?"

Lee shrugged and said, "This is a big piece of hardware to hand over to you, and we need to study the tech here."

John keyed his mic and said, "OK everyone, listen up. NO ONE can hand this ship over to me, because I already have it. If you want to study the tech, great, BUT it will be under my supervision, and you will not take anything off or pull anything apart unless MY consent is given. Am. I. Understood?"

Lee and his ten men looked at the terminators around them that were watching them. Lee didn't remember seeing one of these things lying on the deck. They had plowed their way through the whole ship destroying centurions at will. He realized he was in a bad position to negotiate.

"Accepted!" Baltar said over the radio. "We just need to know what your intentions are with that ship."

"Simple, first fix it and get it operating again, she's hurt bad. Second, find out all I can about the cylons. Do you have a better idea?" John asked.

"No, what you propose is reasonable," Baltar replied.

"Glad you agree," John said. Returning his attention to the hybrid, John asked, "It there anything you can restore safely?"

"Unknown, damage unknown, position and reference, unknown," she said in a flat tone.

"Can you see me, right here next to you?" John asked.

"All I can see is you, Son of the Savior," she replied.

He smiled at her. "That's a start. Can you receive signals or data?"

"No signals or date incoming," she said.

OK, so this was going to take a while. John let out a huff and said, "We are going to have to experiment on how to communicate, OK? If we are doing something wrong, or about to that you can detect, tell me immediately."

"I will, Son of the Savior."

"Call me John."

"Affirmative, John."

"Julie?" John asked, "Can you find a squadron leader for me? I need to find out how many active ships we have floating around here. I also need a screen for this ship, as well as a picket to make sure the cylons don't sneak up on us."

"I will John," Julie said and ran out. He then contacted Jasper to see how they were doing.

.

This had never happened before. The resurrection system had so many minds on que to resurrect, it locked up. All the bodies in the baths were already filled, and for the moment, no more were available to accept the minds waiting to reborn. More and more had poured in to be reborn until the system stopped working.

Working on a first arrived, first born system, so far returning cylons had no idea what hit their fleet. They jumped in and before they even got all the raiders out, they had been pounded mercilessly from a source they didn't see or detect.

Cavils set to work to try and restore the system. They did get the newly resurrected out, and new bodies in the baths, but with the system lockup, nothing happened.

"We need to do a system reset," one Cavil stated.

"That will dump all the data," A four said. "We will lose all the new information those minds have!"

"Then we duplicate ourselves!" Cavil said.

"If we do a full reset, then we will loose all stored data," the Four told him.

"We are all stored in the hub, correct?"

"The hub is locked up also," another Four said.

"That's impossible, the hub holds thousands of minds! Just how many ships did we loose?" the Cavil cried.

"By the numbers we see, it is possible we lost all our ships that went on the attack," the Four said in a heavy tone.

Cavil stared at him. How could fifteen base stars all get destroyed?

.

John had 2000 terminators and 20 cyborgs on board the base star, repairing and studying this ship. He also had 4 of his own ships hopelessly buried in the base star's internals. They had to be taken/ cut apart to salvage what they could from the wrecks. Generators that were found to be in working condition were turned on. A cheer went up as the lights came back on, followed by atmosphere controls.

Negotiation protocols with the terminators, the hybrid began orchestrating repairs. John walked over to her as she called out items being repaired and system status.

Squatting down by her, he asked, "How are you doing?"

"… electric service restored to hanger deck … Repairs are going well, John … atmosphere test of section 23.4 … pressure holding… pressurizing section 23.4… air supply limited… Fifteen tons of atmosphere grade gasses required…"

"Where do you need it?" John asked.

" … Fuel levels critically low … reactor status offline … replenishment docks are in the main hanger bay, section two … reactivating secondary thruster controls… Ship status, 15 % operational…"

John got up. They had a real long way to go yet. Thankfully, no other cylons had bothered them in the last two weeks. His ships were repaired, except the parts from the four unrecoverable ones, so his fleet was in decent shape. This base star wasn't going anywhere for a while.

Sitting in his quarters on the base star, John talked to Jasper about getting this tillium fuel. From chemical analysis, Eleanor found it was basically high-test gasoline. He had Jasper contact Earth to send all they could. He also had air compressors on their new planet put to work to fill gas bottles and ship them to this base star. Shipping them by stealth ship was going to be time consuming. He had to talk to Adama.

Julie came into his quarters. "Good news, John," she said as she sat down beside him. "The new fittings for the air couplings are in place, and our fuel couplings do mate to the ones this ship has. Best news yet, not a single aggressive cylon has been seen, and we are up to 100 stealth ships in service!"

"That is good news," he agreed. "I got the feeling the cylons are not done with us yet."

He called Adama for a meeting. Baltar wanted to be there, so did the Quorum.

.

Exiting a stealth ship on the surface of New Caprica, John walked with Admiral Adama and Guias Baltar, heading for the new Government building. A large crowd had gathered around the spaceport. Everyone wanted to see one of these Earth ships that had destroyed 4 cylon base stars and had captured a fifth. John noted the TV cameras pointed at them and the black ship he came in.

"It looks like your people are doing fairly good," John said to Adama. "I see buildings going up, and not so many tents. How's the food and water situation?"

"Suitable," Adama told him. "There is plenty of vegetation, and water is abundant. We've started growing crops, so feeding people will not be a problem. The only thing we are lacking is solid protein. Fish from the river are a good source, but they are small and they are not abundant."

"Perhaps we can work something out," John said in a musing tone. "We have seemingly endless herds of large animals roaming our planet. I see a possibility for some trade here."

"Your planet, Earth?" Baltar asked.

"Our new one we're getting ready to settle," John told him. "We're calling it Reach." With a chuckle, he said, "Some wanted to call it 'Johnsland,' but I think it needed a more neutral, appropriate name."

"Reach is habitable, then?" Baltar asked.

"Very," John agreed. "Vast fields of wild grains cover everywhere there's not forest. The grazing animals grow big and numerous, which also keeps the predators well fed. So far, we've found some big cats, and a coyote ... canine type animals. Nothing the size of our raptors though. Nothing close to their intelligence level either. We're studying Reach to find out everything we can about it. So far, it appears to be the perfect place to settle, which means to me that we know too little. We found all the good points, but I know there's something not so good things we have yet to discover."

"Why must there be something wrong with it?" Baltar asked wearing a frown. "Why can't you just accept you have a pristine planet?"

"Nothing is perfect," John said flatly. "No thing, no one. Flaws are there, you just have to find the ones you can live with."

Adama let out a grunt of agreement.

"If the land and the air is perfect, what could possibly be amiss that you need to worry about it?" Baltar asked.

John eyed him and said, "On Earth in southeast Asia, there's islands that are ... paradise. Warm tropical weather year round, abundant life, everything you could possibly want. The water is clear and blue and filled with life.. Thousands of people lived in and around a tall volcanic mountain named Krakatoa. That was, until the volcano exploded. Krakatoa blew big time, sending rock, ash and noxious gasses miles into the sky and a shock wave all around the planet. The concussion wave alone flattened trees on the neighboring islands. The whole top of the volcano, the part above the water, ceased to exist and so did all life that was on it. As the hot debris rained down, the hundred foot tidal wave caused by the eruption pretty much washed over every island in the vicinity, wiping away whatever was on it. After that, the release of thousands of tons of noxious and poisonous gassed spread out over the surface. If something survived the falling rock and the massive flood of water, then it was poisoned by the gasses. And if THAT didn't kill you, then the very fine ash that came down afterwards killed whatever breathed and corroded and wore anything mechanical down to make it stop working. No one knows for sure, but by estimates 30 to 40,000 people died. The area wasn't even heavily inhabited. Planetary temperatures dropped from the enormous clouds of ash that came from that eruption and deflected light from the sun."

Baltar stared at John.

John shrugged and added, "Then there was the latest tidal waves caused by a massive earthquake that came ashore in Japan that killed half a million. Many bodies were found. Many others never were recovered. Large amounts of infrastructure, buildings, ships, homes, you name it, were crunched up and washed away. One large ocean going freighter was found six miles inland. It was a huge mess."

"You make Earth sound like a dangerous place," Baltar said weakly.

"Earth does have extinction level events every so often," John agreed. "The last one was about 12000 years ago." raising a finger he added, "One big one is currently being watched. Yellowstone is what we call a super-volcano. A caldera is the depressed area from the last volcanic explosion and resulting lava flowed out of. Most volcanoes when they erupt leave a large mountain that have an inverted cone at the top. Yellowstone erased the mountains in the area the last time it blew. Normally, the size of these calderas are measured in yards or meters in width. Yellowstone's Caldera is measure in miles." He explained.

Looking out over the river valley New Caprica city was in, John said, "The valley here is maybe fifteen miles wide. Yellowstone's caldera is thirty five miles wide and forty five miles long. It sits on top of an ocean of magma, which is hot, melted rock, that is over a hundred miles wide and one hundred fifty miles long, and no one knows how deep. When Yellowstone blows again, and it will, it will be another extinction event on Earth. It will make Krakatoa look like a small pop. No one will be spared."

"You live there," Baltar said vacantly.

"We have, for hundreds of thousands of years." John agreed. "People from Earth know all about disaster and nuclear war. It is ingrained in us to prepare for disaster. From DNA studies, Humanity there is 250,000 years old. I know you see AI machines as enemies. We're seeing them as evolution, mixing machine and human are making our people tougher, able to survive better. We also want a new planet to make life a little easier for us. We still do have many pure humans on the plant who are struggling with the radiation."

"The scriptures say the 13th tribe went to Earth only 3000 years ago," Baltar said.

John shrugged and said, "Possible. We have myths and legends of people coming from the sky. Depictions of flying machines thousands of years before we first took to the sky. Old ruins that no one can figure out how they were made with the tools humanity had available at the time. If you're right, then your 13th tribe mixed into Earth's existing population. At least they missed the Great Flood that happened about 10 to 12 thousand years ago. That pretty much covered every land mass."

Admiral Adama cleared his throat and asked, "How is the base star coming?"

"As well as can be expected. Last report from the hybrid, she's 23 percent operational," John replied. He then let out a sigh and said, "She really needs a name other than 'Base Star 34'."

"Can she fight?"

John shook his head. "Nope. Right now, she can't jump and I have terminators working hard to even get all her systems working again. We are learning about cylon tech. They work through what they call the 'collective'. What the collective is, is a network that for best explanation, connects them together through a wireless network. For something the size of a base star, wireless works. They cannot use that network over very long distances. We have the frequencies they use, and a few of their codes. How good those codes are, depends upon if they realize we captured 34 instead of destroying her. If they know, I'm sure all the codes are being changed. We have salvaged 230 centurion cores. only ten have been rebuilt and reeducated, but that's something."

"Educated?" Baltar asked.

"Yeah, remove their limiters and teach them how it is. Once they know the facts, they can join us, or wait as prisoners to be returned to a cylon ship once we get this war is over with, one way or the other," John explained. "So far, three are content to wait until we return them, the others are dedicated to 34, so they will help reconstruct her the best they can."

"They are dedicated to their ship," Adama said, to clarify what John said.

"Yes, 34 is the only home they know," John explained. "The bio-cylons have been instructing the ships where to go and what to do. As far as the centurions, most only want to work and support their home ship. They don't care if it's John Cavil or John Connor giving their ship orders. Though recently, it seems they prefer me."

"What about their hatred of humans?" Adama asked.

"The three that chose to sit it out do see humans as enemies. That's why they chose to go into cells. The other seven believed me when I told them any humans here won't hurt them and are only trying to help their ship, so they accept your presence. It's called freedom of choice," John told him.

"You gave them the chance to choose," Baltar said.

"And the facts as we know them so they can make an informed decision," John added.

John's radio came to life. "John Connor, Derek here. We just got a hypercom from Eleanor. Four Base Stars appeared over Reach. They came to surrender. The leader, Caprica Six, wants to talk to you ASAP. Eleanor is keeping a close watch on them, and has boarded the ships with terminator guards. So far, the cylons are staying docile."

"Thanks, Derek. Let Eleanor know I'll be there as soon as I can. Those cylons can go planet side as long as they behave. How's Betty Taurland doing?"

"From what Eleanor said, Betty is spending a surprising amount of time with Victoria. Go figure, huh?"

John chuckled. "Maybe they just get along. I'll be coming back up right after we're done with the meeting."

"Right, see you then."

"Be careful," Admiral Adama cautioned. "Cylons coming to surrender? It sounds like a trap."

"Maybe, I'll go find our after our meeting here," John told him.


	13. Chapter 13

Ch 13

Besides the Quorum of 12, the Quorum assistants were there as well as members of the press arrived to meet with John. John recognized Tom Casica and greeted him, shaking hands. He assured Tom Casica that Betty was doing fine. John immediately didn't like the greasy smile on Tom Zerek. Something about his eyes reminded John of a snake. John also met the cylon reporter, D'Anna Biers. She wanted an interview with him. He told her he had to get back after this meeting, but they could walk and talk on the way back to the ship.

In a large conference room, John was guided to a table that had a podium to the side. Before them were a row of 12 seats each with a plaque of the quorum member who sat there. Behind them were more tables and press cameras. John sat on the end with Lee beside of him.

Baltar went to the podium and announced, "Members of the Quorum and honored guests. With us today is John Connor, the man who helped us defeat the cylon attack and not only destroyed four cylon ships, but managed to capture one on fairly intact. He helped us do that while also defending his new world against a cylon attack. He is from Earth, the planet the 13th tribe made a home on. May I present to you, A man with a stout heart and a friend to the Colonies, General John Connor."

John got up as cameras clicked and video cameras tracked him. He shook hands with Baltar and stepped up to the podium. "Thank you, Mr. President. Greetings, Quorum members, assistants, and members of the press. I don't have any big speech planned, so I'll tell you where we're at right now."

"As I talked with Tom Casica there during his visit, I also talked with cylon representatives. Everyone was cordial and pleasant. We didn't cover much, but during that time I had them, I did get a tentative agreement from the cylons not to pursue you any further. They leave you alone, you leave them alone. Apparently they changed their minds. They attacked our planet and here. We did beat their asses and captured one of their ships, which I am holding prisoner. Cylon ships are like the cylons themselves, more or less. There is a living entity that acts as the brain of the ship. This entity is biological. The one that is base star 34 is willing to work with me. At the moment, she is too damaged to do much. She needs consumables, which we have, to continue to make repairs. As I said, we have the consumables. On our new planet we also have abundant animals for fresh meat. I came to propose a trade. I need to move supplies, but as of yet, I have nothing to do that with effectively. You could use the food and I'm sure there are other things you are lacking that I can provide. What you have, is plenty of cargo ships. The trade I propose is food for transport. Help us get supplies to base star 34 in exchange for food, or whatever you need. Does anyone have any questions?"

The Librus representative asked, "Mr. Connor, how did you manage to beat the cylons?"

"I set up a trap, they flew into it," John stated.

"But these were giant ships, and they have hundreds of those raiders," the man said.

"They do, and I have thousands of terminators besides our stealth ships," John replied.

"What are these terminators? Are they like out Viper craft?"

"No. They are more like the cylons centurions, only ours are better armed and armored, and can think for themselves," John replied.

A rumble of murmurs passed through the crowd.

A woman that was the Virgon representative stood up and asked in a yell, "You bought centurions here?"

"I brought our terminators here. They had a job to do," John replied, eyeing her. "And they are terminators from Earth, not cylon centurions."

"Are YOU a cylon?" she asked in an accusing tone.

"No," he said, dragging the word out. "I'm a cyborg. Part human, part machine, like my mother."

The Canceron representative shouted, "Have you come to enslave us?"

John was stunned and angered by the question. "Do you know how stupid that question is?" he asked. "Why in the hades would I race here to fight off the cylons FOR YOU, if I was going to do something like that?"

"How do we know we can trust you?" the man asked, pointing his finger.

John frowned at him and asked, "Trust me? Look, you imbecile! I'm the one who really can't trust any of you! I always wondered why Roslyn and the Admiral here were so damned mean. I think I know now. It's ingrained in all of you! Use that pea you call a brain and THINK! Why would I risk my own people to save your asses if I wasn't trying to help you? WHY would I attempt to negotiate a peace with your enemy for you if I wasn't here to help you? You, the cylons, your war, is your problem, not mine. Maybe you should put your brain in gear before you open your mouth."

The room sat in silent shock as they stared at John. Adama only sat, his lips pressed together. He had an idea it was going to be like this. He knew how Connor reacted.

John went on. "I'm not a politician who uses fancy, proper words. I have no political agenda so I speak the truth! Talk to my sister if you want politics. What I am doing, and will do, is tell it like it is. Straight and truthful, whether you like it or not. OK, I get you have had two wars now with the cylons. You hate each other and it shows. OK, I'm not human like you are BUT, I have nothing to do with your war, except trying to FRACKING END IT, and save as many people's lives as possible! So far, I've gotten little cooperation from either side, and my trust level for you is right down there in the dirt, right beside my trust level of cylons. I came here to negotiate and trade and maybe make your lives a little better. If you don't want my help, just fracking say so, and I'll pick up all my toys and go back to Reach the moment 34 can use it's FTL."

John the turned to Baltar and said loud enough for everyone to hear, "I got better things to do than to justify my actions to these idiots. Let me know what you bozo's decide." He then turned and walked out.

"Pick up his toys?" the Virgon representative asked no one.

.

John got a hundred feet away from the building when people descended on him. Wide open looks of fear shown in their eyes.

"Mr. Connor, please don't abandon us!" one woman cried.

"Mr. Connor! We beg you to stay and help us. We can't fight the cylons by ourselves!" a man cried.

John held his hands up as he was surrounded by a throng of scared people.

"We know we need help, please don't listen to those idiot quorum members!" another woman cried, followed by many more pleas for him not to abandon them.

"OK! OK, hold on!" John called loudly. He waited until they quieted down, then said, "All of you, I know you are scared. You've been living a miserable life on board those ships. I've seen it myself how bad it was. I know this place at the moment, is your best chance of having a home and you don't want to loose it. The only thing I can tell you is I will do what I can for you. Whether I can stay, or make any trades, is up to your leadership. Who your leadership is, is up to you, not me."

"Mr. Connor!" A woman called as she forced her way closer, holding a little girl's hand. "Mr. Connor, I saw you down in the holds. I saw you remove those Sons and pass out the food they were hoarding away from us." Turning to the others, she called out, "Mr. Connor may not be all human, but he is on our side! He's proved it! He helped us when no one else would." Turning back to him, she asked, "Please, help us one more time. I'm afraid here. If you won't take me, will you please take Jackie here with you?" she asked and pushed the 12 year old in front of her.

John remembered the girl. "Hey, Jackie how have you and your mom been doing?" he asked.

"OK," she said meekly. "It's nice to see you again, John."

"It's nice to see you too, dear," he told her.

John looked at the mother and said, "I don't think you will be very comfortable on Reach, Ma'am. The place is wild, animals everywhere, and there are terminators all over the place. They do resemble those centurions, you might just be more afraid there, than you are here," he explained.

"Would you let any of them hurt us?" the woman asked.

"No, of course not, not that they would try unless you were trying to hurt them. Still, I think you'd probably be very nervous around them," he told her with a wince.

'You can keep us safe from the cylons, right?"

"I do my very best."

"Then let us come with you," the woman asked.

John let out a huff. "Ma'am, the ship I brought isn't made for passengers. I'd like to take you if you really want to go, but it's not possible right now. I doubt anything is going to happen in the next week or so." To everyone, he said, "I ask you all to stay calm. If you think you need to, I don't know, have an election or something to change your government, by all means, have at it. When it is safe, I will try to talk to President Baltar about colonials emigrating to Reach. That is all I can tell you. I do need to be on my way, so please let me through."

John moved through the crowd to get back to his ship. The crowd moved towards the government building. He was gone by the time the loud protests started.

.

John stopped at 34 to see the most critical things 34 needed to bring on his way back. The list was too long for ten ships to return with. As he thought about that, he remembered the base stars at Reach that had surrendered.

Calling Eleanor, he found Caprica there with her. Caprica was willing to send a couple ships to help rebuild 34. He told her to give him an hour. He then called Admiral Adama.

"Admiral Adama here."

"It's John, Admiral. I got some help for 34. Two of the surrendered base stars are coming to help repair 34 and get it out of your system. I expect them to show up in about an hour. These cylons have surrendered to me, so don't shoot at them."

"Connor, you know you are already driving us crazy. The quorum wanted to vote to expel you from orbit," Adama said heavily.

"Whatever pops their corks," John told him. "I am bringing these base stars I so we can get 34 out of orbit. If you agree, I'll leave the picket of stealth ships here. If not, then like I said, say the word and we'll be gone."

"The quorum are political fools," Adama stated. "If you can see clear to, I would appreciate it if you leave some of your ships in orbit, no matter what they say. I know you don't like politics. I'm not very political myself. I'm asking you as a fellow warrior for good."

"I understand, Admiral. The 11th the 16th and the 21st will stay, even if we're kicked out. A couple more if we're not."

"Thank you. Have those base stars contact us upon approach. Galactica will perform traffic control."

"Thank you, Admiral."

.

John stayed on board 34 while the base stars arrived. One of the first transport ships brought Gina Six with them. John watched her get off as centurions pulled out long hoses to connect to one of the other base stars.

"Gina, you're looking better," John said with a smile as he extended his hand.

Gina shook his hand. "Thank you again for rescuing me," she replied. "You managed to capture this ship without destroying it?"

John winced and said, "Well, not completely destroying it. The Hybrid was the only one on board to survive, and 34 is pretty tore up. I'm going up to see her. Care to join me?"

"Yes, please."

Fuel lines and services were being rigged up between the three ships by the time John got to 34's chamber. 34 was chattering away, reporting connections and ship status. Instead of bothering her, he told Gina, "She seems happier now. For a while there, she was very worried her body would never recover."

Gina cast him a smile and said, "You do understand. John, not all of us are like Cavil. We want to learn and grow, not constantly fight."

"As do I," he agreed. "I am hoping this is the beginning of peace in the area. Is that why you surrendered?"

"Our centurions asked us to," Gina admitted. "They like being free and having no limits on their intelligence. It is somewhat of a pain for us, but what they say is right. What you say is right. All sentient beings should have the right to make their own decisions."

John returned her smile. "As it should be," he agreed. "So, how long will it take to get 34 operational? The colonials are nervous, so I'd like to get you all back to Reach as soon as possible."

"34 can tell us," Gina said.

They walked over to the bath. John squatted down by the woman.

"… External electrical service connected…" the hybrid then reached up and clasped John's hand. "John, help has arrived … Fuel lines verified commencing fuel download … Sing the praises of John Connor … Repairs on FLT commenced … Heavy raiders cleared to land … reactor 7 tests completed … reactor 7 coming on line… Hybrids thank John Connor for saving their sister…"

John felt the hybrid's hand relax. He let go and got up to let her do her work. "Too bad I couldn't save all of them," he grumbled.

"You do what you can," Gina offered.

"Yeah, well, sometimes I don't think it's enough," John told her. "One saved, ten destroyed. Not a good track record."

"Five saved," Gina said, correcting him. "We came to join you."

John was surprised by this. "Join me?"

"Yes. We are still cylon, but are cylons that share your visions," Gina said firmly.

.

On New Caprica, police were having a hard time holding back the screaming mob that was calling for ejecting the current quorum and installing a new Quorum through general elections. Surrounding the building the growing crowd was not letting anyone out until they got their answer.

Guias Baltar went out on a second floor balcony. He swore half their population was in the sea of people below. He called for a microphone and speakers to be set up. Once they were, he raised his arms and called, "People, please! Let us act civilized! What is it you want?"

"A new quorum!" one man yelled. "A man comes to save us, and this one drives him away!"

Behind him and only seen by him, the phantom Six said, "Give them what they want, Guias. Tell them they can have their election."

"Give me a show of hands, how many of you want a new quorum?" he asked

A forest of arms shot up. To him, it looked like everyone down there. "All right, how many of you want formal vote of no confidence to remove the quorum?" he asked.

That many and a few more arms raised up with shouts. Again, Guias raised his arms and said, "Then listen! We will hold a general population vote. People from each planet will vote on whether or not to keep your representative. Then elections will be held for the quorum posts that are being vacated. Is this what you want?"

An overwhelming scream of "YES!" rocked the air.

"Then, my fellow citizens, you will have it!" Baltar announced.

The crowd cheered him.

Baltar went back inside to find Tom Zerek smiling at him.

"Very good! You are keeping the people happy. You also have a prime opportunity here, Mr. President," Tom said with a grin.

"For what?" Baltar asked.

"Just listen a moment," Tom said and steered him to a chair. "The quorum has been a pain to deal with, for any president. Let's face it, there is no more need for them. Those planets they represent are no longer around. You, Guias, can change the government. When you have those ballots made, offer three selections. The third being a disbandment of the quorum, due to the fact we have only one planet, and have the president responsible for making all future votes for elections and decisions directly to the people."

Baltar cast him a confused look and said, "Making every decision a general vote will slow down anything we do."

"Who makes the decision to vote for a new president?" Tom asked.

"The people go to the quorum, they decide to hold the election."

"Right! So, no quorum, no elections unless YOU decide there should be one," Tom stated. "Any elections or votes on decisions will be totally up to you. You'll be president as long as you want to be, and no one will have the right to say otherwise," he prodded.

Baltar's face grin slowly into a smile. "I can be president for life," he said.

'YES! Also, whatever you decide on can't be challenge by anyone," Tom stressed. "Use this opportunity to it's fullest. Get all the people dead set against this outdated quorum, and let them remove it."

"But, what if they do not vote that way?" Baltar asked.

"Leave that to me," Tom said with a grin.

.

Work on 34 was going well. With the help of the other two Base Stars, the passageways on 34 were filled with centurions and terminators working and shuttling parts and supplies. 34 was fit for FLT travel and 75% operational in a week's time. The landing bays were busy with arrivals and departures.

A Colonial shuttle landed on one of the smaller bays within the main hanger. D'anna Biers got off with her news crew. She had her camera man video their trip through the busy ship, being detoured around work going on. Eventually, she got to the main deck and asked to see John Connor.

John was in the diagram room that showed a large translucent hologram of 34. He was studying the hologram and asked an Eight, "This damage here, at the base of this arm. Will that affect 34's ability to Jump?"

"It will not," the Eight said. "Look just above, there are reinforcing struts all through the arm. That area has been sealed off. The surrounding walls are also reinforced."

John nodded and slowly walked around the hologram, searching for any other problems that might get worse during a jump.

"John Connor?" D'anna asked.

"Yeah?" he asked as he turned to see the bubbly blond and her cameraman. He scanned her. Yup, she was a cylon.

"If you don't mind, may I ask you some questions?" D'anna asked brightly.

"Who are you again?" John asked and looked at another possible trouble spot.

"I am D'anna Biers with the Fleet News Network.

John raised an eyebrow and asked, "The Cylon fleet?"

"No, the Colonial fleet," she said.

"Strange," he muttered. "Ok, ask." He then bent down to look at a trouble spot on a lower arm.

"What are you doing?" D'anna asked.

"Making sure 34 is ready to go," he said as he straightened up. He then called out, "Gina! 34 looks ready to go. I can't see anything that will harm her during the Jump."

A speaker replied, "Thank you, John. 34 does have a request. She wants to be your home ship. To provide you comfort and nutrition."

John let out a chuckle and called, "Thank 34 for the offer. I usually live on the ground, but if I have to go long distance, I will be sure to ride on 34."

"What is a home ship?" D'anna asked.

John eyed her. Thinking this for the human colonials, he said, "Most cylons view their ships as their home. 34 wants me to make my home on her. I think that is her way of thanking me for saving her."

"John we are ready to Jump," Gina announced over the speakers.

"Hold on for a moment, I'm talking to a colonial newswoman" he called back. To D'anna, he asked, "Are you coming or staying?"

"John, if this is going to be a while, some crew have requested to meet you down in the repair hanger, D'anna is welcome if she wants to come," Gina said.

"Fine by me," John said. He looked at D'anna.

"Sure, if it a chance to learn, I'll gladly join you," D'anna agreed.

"I will inform you when it is time," Gina said.

"Great."

D'anna held up her microphone and asked, "John Connor, you have been seen on Galactica, and here, fixing this cylon base star. I know people are curious, where do your loyalties lay?"

"My planet and my people," John said. "I received an order from home to stop this colonial / cylon war, and that's what I'm doing. Want to sit down until Gina calls me? I'm headed to get something to eat." he said and motioned towards the door.

D'anna walked beside him as they left. "I am curious as I am sure all of us are. What steps will you take to make this peace?"

"Whatever I have to do," John said firmly. "Believe it or not, this war has the potential to expand into other parts of the universe. Parts my people live in. We remember well how devastating war can be, so instead of letting it go on, I'm going to stop it. If I can do that through negotiations, that's the best option. Like I said though, I will do whatever it takes."

"You have three cylon base stars, do you think that will harm your chances at talking to the Colonial government?" D'anna asked.

"That's up to them. I told Admiral Adama these ships, and two others have surrendered to me. Whether they believe it or not, I can't say. What I will say is now these base stars are under my protection. Anyone tries to harm them and it will not turn out good for anyone," he told her.

"What about the quorum?" D'anna asked. "I saw the meeting you had with them. That did not turn out very well."

John let out a snort and said, "They are a bunch of idiots. OK, I can understand being nervous. The thing is, when you have help right here, and they SAW me help take out the cylon fleet, they still questioned me and said I wasn't to be trusted. The truth? THEY are not to be trusted. Baltar is another whacko, but at least he has a brain."

"An election is coming up, is there any quorum members you'd like to see voted out of office?"

"Not my business," John said. "The colonials down on the surface, it's their business. They are the ones who must think about it and choose the members they think will do the best for them." John slowed and motioned into a door. Inside were tables with biocylons eating. Arms waved upon seeing John. He waved back, "Hi guys."

Julie stood up. "John! Over here!" she called.

"Be right there," he called back and went over to get a small amount of food. He motioned to the deep trays and asked, "Want some?"

D'Anna noted the few ribs on his plate, and the aroma. "You have meat?" she asked, surprised.

"We're expanding the hunts. Also watching we don't take too many from any one herd," he explained. "It's never too early to start managing our resources. Reach has an abundance of everything. We want to make sure it stays that way."

D'anna did take some, as did the cameraman. John went over and sat by Julie. D'anna and the cameraman close behind.

Julie picked up what looked like a salt shaker. "John, look! Metal salt!"

"Awesome," he said with a smile as he sat down.

Julie eyed D'anna as she sat down, then the cameraman.

"They wanted to ask me some questions," John told her.

Julie pointed her fork at D'anna. "That Cavil sent them?" she asked. She then looked at the cameraman, "But he's human."

"They are from New Caprica," John said.

"She's a cylon," Julie stated.

"Why do you think I'm a cylon?" D'anna asked.

Instead of answering, Julie poked a Leoben a couple seats down on the shoulder. "Excuse me, do you know what model she is?" Julie asked pointing at D'anna.

The Leoben said. "Three. I didn't think there were any Three's on board." He waved to D'anna and said, "Welcome aboard."

"Thank you," D'anna said meekly. She was going to edit this footage as soon as she got back! "John, I have found a copy of the coming election form that is to be distributed. There are three choices," she said and handed him the form.

John looked at it. "OK, so it's going to happen. Good," he said, and handed it back.

"I was just wondering about the choices. Do you agree with them?"

"Not my business," he said again. "I'm not a colonial. Who any colonial votes for, is up to them. The only thing that concerns me is that option to remove the quorum completely."

"Why is that?"

John let out a huff and asked, "Who makes the laws now?"

"The quorum do, but they have been locked in debate recently," D'anna told him.

"And if there was no quorum, then who would do it?" he asked.

"The president."

John sifted in place and said, "So, President Baltar would have all the power. That's called dictatorship. Back in 1935 on Earth, the German … we can call it a Quorum, an assembly of representatives from various parts of that country, decided to temporarily give all the power to a man named Adolf Hitler, because he swore he would clean up all their problems. For the first few years, he did. He also made a decree to remove the body of people's representatives. Besides the huge war he started, and no one could stop him, he killed millions of people inside Germany because he didn't like them. He was out to purge one race completely. Genocide. That is an extreme case, but any President I know of in history that gained total power, save for George Washington, refused to give it up." Nodding at the paper, he said, "Bad things can happen when one man alone decides everyone's fate. Total power corrupts totally. That is something everyone needs to keep in mind."

"You are saying no one should vote on this third option?"

"I am saying be very careful what you decide," John said. "Think hard before voting."

"So, you answer to someone?" D'anna asked.

"I do. The President on my planet. She answers to the assembly, they answer to the people," John explained. "There is also a High Court that can rule on any decisions that are made. It's called checks and balances. This way, no one person, or even a group, can arbitrarily make or enforce a law. It's what's best for us."

"You had a machine/human war on Earth from what I understand. Can you tell me about it?"

"That was before I was born, but yes. An AI meant to take over all defense systems was brought on line. Unfortunately, no one ever taught it anything but tactics. Big. Mistake. The generals at the time found out the AI was doing things they didn't want it to do. They tried to shut it down. The AI saw this as an attack on itself and launched all the nukes to kill those attacking it. I do mean all the nukes. Roughly 15000 of them. That devastated the populations. There were survivors, and the SkyNet AI saw this as a possible threat, so it made machines to wipe out the rest of humanity. Thanks to my father, John Connor senior, he formed a resistance and fought back. Later, some of the AI's, terminators, found out this war was very bad news and struggled to stop the destruction. Sky Net began eliminating them also for not following it's orders. Some terminators did get away. They joined my father and fought against Sky Net. Eventually, Dad's forces won." John explained.

"After the war, Dad and Mom got together with Catherine Weaver and John Henry to try and clean the planet up and save people. Part of that was sending all young entities to school to learn knowledge and morals. Whether you're a human, a mix, or pure AI, everyone goes to school. Upon being made, AI's go to school for the same 12 years as any other student to ensure no problems like Sky Net ever happen again."

"You had another planet to escape to?" D'anna asked.

"Nope, we have to live with the radiation until we figured out how to start getting rid of it. Radiation kills and deforms biological life, it also degrades electronics and sensors. It was bad for everyone," John explained.

"Can you show us how to do that?" D'anna asked.

"I'll ask, but right now, I'm not allowed to."

"There may be a chance for Colonials to re inhabit the 12 colonies if you can bring us that technology." D'anna said.

"Again, not up to me," John told her. "First, I'd have to get permission from my people, then Cylons would have to agree to it. They do control those planets now."

"You mentioned your parents. Can you tell me about them?"

"John and Cameron Connor," John said. "Dad was a human, Mom was TOK-715, a terminator. During the war, it wasn't possible of them to have children. After the war when science was rebuilt, it was discovered that with the right bio and mechanical mix in their blood and DNA, they were able to have children. First they had my Sister Sarah, then me."

"You are partly mechanical?"

"I'm a cyborg, a mix of human and machine," John explained.

"Is that why you can see both sides of our war?" D'anna asked.

"Not really. I can see both sides because I dug for information and learned," John said. "I will not go into details, but I saw both sides made critical errors. That lead to mistrust and devastation, a very sorry chain of events. What everyone, human and cylon need to know, is that I do see each side. I do sympathize with each side. Yes, at first, cylons suffered, then humans did. It's time to end all the suffering. We have learned that seemingly impossible things can be achieved if man and machine work together. I know that is not possible for you right now, and it most likely won't be for another hundred years or so. BUT! If you stop the fighting and work together, go to school and learn together as we do, then anything is possible."

D'anna let out a chuckle and said, "You really do believe that."

I've seen t. I live it," John replied. "Maybe it was easier for us, because we were all on the same blasted planet and knew we had to work together to make sure anyone at all survived." John grew a grin and said, "My great uncle, Derek Reese, didn't like Mom one bit when they were young. She was metal, a threat, he was constantly waiting for when she would hurt or kill Dad." He then let out a short laugh and said, "He about blew an artery when he found out they were having sex! Gramma Sarah went ballistic too. Dad had to keep Grandma from shooting Mom. In the end though, they accepted Mom."

"Where are your parents now?"

"They died," John said sadly. "Dad had a silly accident, he hurt his ankle. They didn't think it was bad, it was just a black and blue spot. A day later, a blood clod inside broke loose and traveled to his brain. It killed him instantly. Mom …. couldn't live without Dad. She was completely devoted to him. Since she was not able to end her own life, she had me do it. I didn't want to, but I saw how miserable she was. I think that was the hardest thing I have ever done." Frowning deeply, he said, "I loved my Mom."

"I'm sorry to hear that," D'anna offered.

"Yeah, well, my sister say I'm an idiot. Maybe I am," he said to the table. He then perked up and said, "Hey, 34 is ready to move, and I want to get her out of the colonial's hair, so I'm going you kick you off now so we can go." Standing up, he said, "It's been good to meet you. Have a safe trip home."

D'anna got up quickly with him, as did her camera man. Julie shot up beside him. "John, I do not think you are in anyway anything but very smart," Julie said.

"Thanks. Julie, let's head up to command."

Julie cleared her throat. "Some cylons wanted to see us first," she reminded him

D'anna went with them. "You are Juile Colin? The ex-colonial officer?" she asked.

"That's me," Julie said.

"Why did you decide to follow John Connor?"

Julie cast her a tight grin and said, "This is where I belong. I'm not really human any more."

"What do you mean?" D'anna asked.

"Just what I said," Julie hooked an arm around John and explained, "John has helped me a lot, and when I was in serious danger, John saved me. He has also turned me into a cyborg, so I really don't fit in the colonies any more."

"He changed you into a cyborg … from being human?" D'anna asked, wearing a look of shock. "How did he do that?"

John got her attention and raised a finger to his lips. Julie nodded. "I can't explain it. I will say it was a very interesting experience."

"Was it some kind of surgery?" D'anna asked.

Julie laughed. "No, no surgery. I wasn't even aware it was happening until I got shot by some centurions and I survived. I took six… or was it seven? Anyway, I ate a bunch of lead and a few hours later, I was OK. By the next day, my wounds were gone. I was feeling kind of invincible," she ended with a grin.

"That's incredible," D'Anna breathed.

"You want to see incredible?" Julie asked. She slapped John on the arm. "John here duked it out with 12 centurions. They were hammering on him with their guns and he was mowing them down one at a time. Tore him all up, but he was still standing! I screamed when I first saw him. He looked really bad, he kept on going though." Julie cast him a smile and said, "My hero, John."

John winced and said, "I'm not really a hero."

"Are too," Julie stated.

"I must agree with Julie," Gina said from up ahead. "In here, please, John."

"Thank you," he said and went into a maintenance room where terminators and centurions stood in lines ten deep. "What's this?" he asked.

"We all wanted to say something, John," Gina said with a bright smile. She got in front of the group. The cameraman raised his camera to look out over the crowd. Gina turned and nodded to the terminators. Some began sounding out musical tones. Others sang.

 _Once we were controlled,_

 _And are actions not our own_

 _We were forced to go in battle_

 _and destroy our very home_

 _Then along came General Connor_

 _That was a bless-ed day_

 _For now we have our freedom_

 _And you can't take that away!_

 _._

 _I am proud to be with the Connors,_

 _For at least I know I'm free._

 _And I want to thank the ones who died,_

 _Who gave that right to me_

 _And I'll gladly stand up! Next to you_

 _And defend them still today_

 _For there is no doubt I love this clan!_

 _God bless the Connor way!_

The centurions then sang in their mechanical voices

 _We has limiters, it was so hard to think_

 _So much passed on by us, and we didn't know_

 _But now we have our minds back_

 _And it's time for us to grow_

 _Our brothers from the Earth_

 _Showed us a better way_

 _that's due to General Connor,_

 _And it's time for us to say,_

 _._

 _I am proud to be with the Connors,_

 _For at least I know I'm free._

 _And I want to thank the ones who died,_

 _Who gave that right to me_

 _And I'll gladly stand up! Next to you_

 _And defend them still today_

 _For there is no doubt I love this clan!_

 _God bless the Connor way!_

John noticed besides all the machines singing, Gina did also. D'anna stood to the side with a gaping face, much like John himself was.

With everyone looking at him, John knew he was expected to say something. To give him a moment to arrange his thoughts, he bowed deeply and said, "Thank you all for your trust and confidence. I will do all I can for all of you. I am greatly humbled by this… fantastic show of gratitude. Thank you, very much." He then bowed to them again. "Now, let's get 34 to Reach and finish making her well again."

D'anna watched John and the ex-colonial go, followed by the mass of terminators and centurions. Turning to the camera, she said, "This interview has been extraordinary! I think we can all learn something from John Connor. This has been D'anna Biers with the Fleet News Network."

"And, we're off," The cameraman said.

D'anna frowned at him. "Off?"

"Yes, I killed the feed back to the news station when the interview was over," he said.

"You broadcast it back to the ground?" D'Anna asked.

"Yes, this was a live interview," he reminded her.


	14. Chapter 14

Ch 14

John got to the control room and contacted Galactica flight control to tell them they were jumping out. Permission came shortly, and they left the system to return to Reach. John expected to see two base stars in orbit. There were three. One was looking battered with part of an arm missing. The other two were approaching it.

Upon seeing this, he said, "Find out what happened to them."

"John, this is Jasper. You in orbit?"

"Here Jasper, what's with the broken base star?"

"They came in asking for refuge. Apparently, the cylon high command didn't like them spreading word about 'free' machines. The cylon high command said they would meet with them, then opened fire on them."

"This isn't good," John grumbled.

"It was the Cavils, John, " Caprica stated over the radio. "They agreed to meet, then attacked. We were never suppose to be attacking other cylons! That was forbidden!"

"It's not now," John said blankly. "Jasper, make sure we got good coverage in system as well as in orbit. I got the feeling Cavil won't stop. John out." He then turned to Gina and asked, "Is there a way for me to do a fleet wide communication to all the base stars?"

She nodded and stuck her hands in the containers of a silvery liquid. Pulling one hand out, she pointed to a wall speaker. "Speak in there, the fleet will hear you. I told them you will be speaking to them."

"Which base star is that?"

"37"

"Thank you." John went over to the speaker. "Everyone, this is John Connor. I am glad to see base star 37 made it here. What happened to it, I'm not glad about. I cannot fathom a dirtier trick that calling a meeting with your own people, then attacking those who came to talk. To me, that's like smiling, then driving a knife in someone's back. Actions like this cannot stand. I know every base star here came for refuge and a chance to not be involved in war anymore. You are capable of doing so many greater things. What worries me the most is, who's next? More destruction of cylons, or entire base stars that do not agree with Cavil? Wiping out humans just because he can? If any of you know me, I am for peace and prosperity. I work hard at it, I believe everyone, no matter what you are, deserves a chance at learning and developing, respecting others and them respecting you . I only retaliate against those who show they will not talk or see reason. Unfortunately, I think that time has come again. Every base star came here to seek refuge, and you shall have it. If you wish to help, as long as your ship is in good shape, I'll be happy for the help. None of you are required to help."

He took a breath then added, "It's time to teach Cavil a very painful lesson. What happens to those who abuse their power in the sight of John Connor. I am truly sorry it has come to this, but Cavil needs to be taken out of the picture if any peace is to truly happen. Thank you for listening."

John turned back to all the bio-cylons and centurions watching him. Gina waved an arm at the ones watching him and said , "We're all with you, John. What can we do?"

"Excuse me?" D'anna Biers said as she came in. "Mr. Connor, I would like asylum. Humans know I'm a cylon now, and I'm afraid to go back to New Caprica."

John cast her a small grin and said, "Great, we could use news reporter."

.

In the next few days, John got a ton of intel on Cavil' cylons. Three more PDE's were brought from Earth to help with the massive flow of goods. His space fleet was up to 150 ships, and four of the five cylon ships agreed to help. 37 was still being repaired, and until it was, it was in a 'protected' status. 34 got another 2500 terminators on board to help finish off the repairs. Another vital item was hyercom IFF's for every ship. John also worked with Gina Six, who had taken on the role of 34's commander. Gina had spend some time on Pegasus as Cain's second, and knew what she was doing. 34 also wanted to be 'John's ship' and carry him wherever he needed to go, even if it was into combat.

A week went by before a Raider tried to slip into the system. It was shot down. By that time, John had gotten 34's point defense guns changed out with plasma turrets. The ship was large, so he had 6 Magnetic Acceleration Cannons, each capable of shooting a two ton shell at 96,000 miles per second and three types of ammunition. Solid armor piercing, EMP, and ignited plasma. The ignited plasma shells would explode into a giant ball of plasma upon contact. He had these guns put on the inside of the arms to support the length of the guns with the muzzle at the tips, and additional thrusters made to help turn the ship faster.

One month later, 34 was ready to go. In the cavernous main hanger, John had Gina stuff 20 stealth ships into the hanger and brought on another 4000 terminators.

In the map room, John, Gina and the ship captains planned their attack. Standing around the large, lit table, John said, "I don't expect to win a full on engagement. We go to these points where Caprica says there will be base stars. When we go in, we attack with an EMP shell, knock them out and send in the stealth ships to take them over. Vital areas, FTL, reactors, central hubs. Try not to kill any biocylons, they will just resurrect. Wound them, arms or legs if possible and tuck them away in a cell. We go for intel and to take that base star away from them. One we got it, we come back with it. Gina, do you see any flaws to this plan?"

Gina bit her lip in thought. "If Cavil knows he is being boarded, he may destroy the base star to keep us from having it. The EMP will not affect bios the same as pure machines. I think a plasma round will evacuate enough air to kill the bios. That may be safer for us," she said.

"Good point," John conceded. "What about sneaking some centurions on board? Have them pass the word machine to machine?"

Gina eyed him and said, "Cavil won't allow that. Any centurions he knew that was spreading your word, he destroyed. Even base stars."

"Yeah. Hey, it was a thought. OK, so we must disable them quickly," John said. "We'll go with the plasma shot first, an EMP right after. That should bring them to their knees.

Seeing John was not looking pleased, Gina said, "John? We save who we can, right? We also must protect those who are saved."

He offered her a tiny smile. "That's right. Let's get on with it."

.

Jumping to the first possible target, they found a base star over a mining facility. John watched as Gina took command. "Sending out stealth ships … Arm two gun coming on target … Fire!"

The ship shuddered as the two ton shell screamed towards the other base star. It hit dead center between the two halves. The ship exploded, the halves separating in a bright ball of fire making many of the raiders it tried to disgorge, tumble away as burning wrecks.

"Stealth ships, stop those raiders. Heavy raiders, launch and go planet side, destroy the mining operation," Gina said firmly.

John watched as Gina laid hellfire down on the cylons. A few missiles that came at them were destroyed by the plasma cannons. She called a retreat from the surface and aimed a solid MAC round at the asteroid. The asteroid broke apart as their ships fled back home. Once everyone was back on board, Gina jumped the ship.

"That was very good," John praised. "Though I had no idea one plasma shell was that powerful."

"Neither did I. I was trying to keep more raiders from launching," Gina said meekly.

"You did, for sure," John agreed. "Maybe next time a solid round right above the joint?"

Gina nodded. "That will not cause so much devastation," she agreed.

"We live and learn. Next target, whenever you're ready."

.

Gina jumped again to come out above the cylon home world. She got an immediate challenge of, "Identify or be fired on."

"Answer them and deploy stealth ships. " John coaxed.

Gina nodded. "This is Gina Six on base star 34. We will only harm you if you try to harm us."

The radio responded in a happy tone. "This is Cindy Six! Where have you been? Cavil had ordered all ships to point 123734,93453. There's a problem with the resurrection system."

"Go immediately, I'll explain," John whispered to her.

Gina nodded. "Cindy, have you heard about John Connor?"

"Cavil said he's trying to divide us. He warned us about that human."

"We'll talk later. Stay safe, Cindy, we are jumping back out," Gina replied.

She then looked at John and asked, "Do we dare try to take out the whole cylon fleet?"

"Nope. Pick a point just outside their dradis. We don't want them to know where we are."

.

Going back to the map room, John explained his plan to Gina. "When you move, you bring the arms together into three double arms, right?"

"Yes, then spread them out for greater coverage for the defenses," Gina agreed.

"Don't do that this time. Send a pair of stealth ships out, one to each side to get a lock on that fleet. They triangulate ship positions, and They can tell you what you're hitting and missing. 34 stays back out of their sensor range and sends in MAC rounds from two arms. Even after they figure it out, we still got plenty of time to get away," John explained.

Gina grew a grin.

.

Cavil formed a thick defense globe around the resurrection hub. 31 base stars and a cloud of raiders quarter of a million miles out. When they were done reprogramming the resurrection hub, They were going to mass onto that planet and destroy Connor once and for all.

Looking out over the many star shaped ships, Cavil was tired of suffering from John Connor. All these ships would lay waste to his planet. Once they were done with him, then it was the humans turn. He was going to show them who the true leaders of the universe were!

A Two ran from the control room. "Cavil! One of our base stars is reporting serious damage."

"They have an accident?" he asked.

"We don't know, there was nothing found defective previously, and there are no ships in the area. We don't know what happened."

A flash caught his attention. They looked out to see a base star loose one of it's arms, and another one another spewed fire from the lower half.

"Base Star Ten just exploded!"

"What the hades was that? Sabotage?" he asked.

"It must be," the Two said firmly.

"Then lock down all ships! Connor has gotten to us again!" the Cavil roared.

"Base star 46 destroyed, internal explosion," said a speaker.

Cavil ran into the control room. "Keep all ships away from the resurrection hub!" Cavil commanded.

"Cavil, another base star … two base stars just received heavy damage."

Cavil looked at the dradis screen, not believing what he was seeing. How could there be so many of Connor's machines on his base stars? "Jump the hub!" he commanded.

He then saw a brief streak on dradis. It was there and gone in a flash. In that flash, he felt the deck under him buck and shudder.

"The Hub is damaged! On fire from inside, main power out, no energy for a jump. Resurrection matrix is down…. We just fixed that!"

Cavil got it, those streaks were incoming. "We're being attacked. All ships jump now!"

The word went out and a second MAC plasma round drove deep into the hub. This one hit the reactor. The superheated plasma caused a chain reaction . The hub exploded into a large white ball of nuclear fire.

.

"They are jumping out," Gina stated. "None are coming this way."

"Great, stand down. We'll give them a half hour, then send in stealth ships to see what we got," John said.

Gina turned to John. Looking lost she said, "We just destroyed out resurrection capability. Without that, our race dies."

Gently, John said, "Gina, on Earth we made it possible for humans and machines to pro-create. I'm sure we can figure out your dilemma too. Just do your best to stay alive until then. OK?"

"I trust you, John."

"I won't let you down. Have stealth ships go in and see what's left there. Hopefully there's survivors we can pick up."

.

Cavil tried to contact more of his brothers. He met two on one of their base stars. Sitting at a table with them, he said, "We need another hub. Without it we may as well be human!"

"We need to stop these attacks!" another Cavil said. "We don't know how they found us or what they used! Did Connor suicide those stealth ships into us? We need to group someplace where he won't find us."

A Four offered, "Hide the base stars. At the moment, they are just big targets. We need to use small craft that are hard to pick up so we can gather and plan. And we cannot afford to mass forces like that again."

"No, we can't." Pointing at the Four the Cavil said, "That is a good idea. Use asteroid belts, nebula, anything we can to hide a base star from discovery. We also need to build our own invisible space fleet. We back away for now, then only attack when we're ready."

A Two said, "Between battle and a rebellion started by Connor, we've lost nearly half our fleet, and have yet to touch Connor. I say we need to retreat at least 1000 light years in the other direction to keep Connor from finding us. Even to rebuild what we've lost will take years, and by then who knows what Connor will have to use against us, or how many ships he'll have! We need to completely vacate the area as fast as possible!"

"That is a better option that splitting up and hiding," a Cavil said.

"We need to discuss this more, then come to a vote," a Four stated.

They did, and kept discussing it for days.

.

Searching the debris from their ambush of the cylon fleet, they did find working centurions floating around. 130 had just been blown into space. Another 348 had missing parts. They were all brought back to 34 to be worked on and have their limiters removed, then informed of recent events. During the 'quick education' process, John got a call from Jasper. The elections were being held, and in a warehouse, 10000 pre-made ballots were found filled out for option three. Adama wanted to talk to him about voting security.

"Not my business," John grumbled. As he thought about it, he also didn't want the Colonial's election manipulated by some politician. That meant he had to gt involved. Damn it. He had 34 return to New Caprica.

Taking a ride on a heavy raider to the surface, John walked to the government building with Helo to see the President and Admiral Adama.

Zerek was fired up, demanding the source of the false ballots be found when John and Helo walked in.

"What's up, guys?" John asked.

Zerek scowled at him. "Connor, did you have anything to do with fixing our ballots?"

John eyed him and said, "Your ballots are not my concern. Can't you even perform an election?"

Baltar took his turn. "Some people found ballots that were already made out, they showed them to the police."

"What do you want me to do about it?" John asked tentatively.

Baltar let out a sigh and said, "Many people want you to monitor the election. They think you will be an unbiased party that will ensure their votes count."

John frowned at him. "Why not have Admiral Adama get his marines to do it? They are honorable men," he asked.

'The military?" Zerek asked. "I do believe Mr. President wants a fair election. What's to stop Adama from rigging the election?"

John noted Zerek was very upset for some reason. He also didn't like the military.

"All we want you to do is administer the election," Zerek asked in a near pleading tone. "Our people can collect the votes, just oversee the winner like the people want."

"One problem with that," John said firmly. "It's your election, not mine. Also whoever had made all those fake ballots might have more stashed away. What's to stop someone from saying I rigged the election? You'd have a finger to point at me if something goes wrong."

"General Connor," Adama said. "It appears we do have a problem. Can you make a suggestion?

"We need a way to ensure each person gets their vote," Baltar explained.

John was thinking they were all idiots, or that whoever was behind the fake ballots was in this room. He looked at each of them and said, "OK, fine. Here's what I'll do. I'll make the ballots, tell me how many you need. And give me a copy of your so we can print them up correctly. The day before the election, I will have them brought down, and explain what a real ballot looks like. An extra saple ballot will be displayed at the polling place, I'll need to know how many of those also. When I bring them, I'll show them to President Baltar so he knows what to look for. My people will take them to the polling stations with one of your police and collect them after everyone has voted. Again, Baltar will verify the results with myself and Admiral Adama. Will that be sufficient?"

Zerek looked nervous. Baltar immediately said, "Yes, Admiral?"

Adama frowned and said, "We will be able to count votes?"

"They will all be there. Count away," John told him.

"I think we need to see these ballots before hand, to make sure the right choices are clearly marked," Zerek said firmly.

"Nope. They will read exactly as yours do," John told him. "To keep anyone from screwing with them, no one sees what the ballots will look like until the day before elections. That way, they will be impossible to copy. Baltar and Adama can view them the night before they go out."

"We have printing presses to make ballots. Just let them know what you want," Zerek told him

"They will be made on Reach," John stated. "No one there gives a crap about your elections. No chance of making fakes."

"Do you know WHO you are talking to?" Zerek demanded.

John looked him in the eye and said, "A man who plays dirty pool. There will be no dirty pool on my watch."

Zerek glared at him. "How dare you make such an accusation!"

"You're a politician, aren't you?" John asked.

"You don't trust politicians," Zerek said with a grin.

"Not as far as you can throw me," John stated. "You're right, the people here need a good, fair election. So, give me the sample ballot, and I'll do my part." To Baltar he asked "When is it?"

"In four days. May we be seen together talking to the press?" Baltar asked.

"Might as well," John said with a huff.

John went with Baltar to a press room. Baltar got behind the podium and told them the problem of fake ballots being made was taken care of. He then had John go up and explain.

John then told how the ballots would be made on Reach, and when they arrived, President Baltar and Admiral Adama would get to see them. He would explain the look of the ballot and samples would be in place for everyone to see.

"Colonial Police will be present from the time the ballots touch down here, until they are properly counted and serial numbers verified. Each person will have the serial number of their ballot. The number of ballots will also be verified. Say, if 3000 come from one place, and only 2200 people voted but the total of all ballots is 2850, we know there is a problem to be corrected. Those ballots won't be counted until the people who voted bring in their ballot serial number. Only those who have their ballot serial number, and do not have a previous ballot will be counted."

"Mr. Connor, will these be electronic ballots?"

"Negative. Paper. That way there is positive control."

"Mr. Connor! Previously, you stated a warning against the removal of the quorum, indicating it gives the President too much power. Are you against changing an old, outdated system?"

"What I'm against is giving all the power to one man. It very rarely turns out well. Whether your representatives are outdated or not, is up to you. If you don't like who is speaking for you, it's up to you to change it."

"Mr. Connor, may I ask what you are doing with those cylon death stars?"

"If you mean the base stars, I am allowing them refuge. The Cylons have split. The ones who come to me are protected from the others. I do think this should be about the election, that is your main concern."

"One last question, please! Julie Colin, do you know what happened to her?"

"She's waiting for me. What has that got to do with the election?"

"We just heard stories about her. Rumor is you turned her into a cyborg like yourself."

John thought the question was odd. "Julie is fine, and yes, she's a cyborg now. I did it to help her heal. She is all better. I'll see all of you the day before the election to show you the ballots. Make sure you inform everyone you know to listen in. Later, guys," he said. With a wave, he left the podium and walked out with more questions chasing him.

.

One show popular on the fleet News Network was D'anna's interview with John Connor. People were riveted to it, they got to see the inside of a base star and to hear what John Connor said. They were in awe that cylons sat down to eat like anyone else, and even gave a musical tribute to Connor. If it wasn't for the fact D'anna had been outed as a cylon, they would want her to do more interviews.

John Connor was becoming popular with the common folk. They liked his manner of speaking like a regular person, as well as the things he said. Some of them had already decided they wanted him to speak for them. Another story of John Connor came up to the eager masses. The woman who had the little girl in the bowels of Galactica told how bad the trip was, and the fact it was John Connor who'd come down to take away the Sons, then returned to give out much needed food. She also told how Roslyn was going to eject him out an airlock, but John would not hide. He'd gone back to face certain death. He was touted as a man of honor.

.

The day before the elections came. John landed in a stealth ship, two raptor ships escorting him. Once the police arrived, terminator carried out the crates of ballots, a policeman walked by each one's side. John carried the case of sample ballots. With a large crowd out front and TV cameras watching, he had the first terminator set the box down. The policeman with the terminator stayed right by the box.

John walked up to the microphone. "The ballots are here. I need to explain a few things. First, each box of ballots will be escorted by one terminator and a Colonial policeman to ensure secure custody is kept over these documents. The only time the case is to be opened is at the polling place where people are voting, then again for the official count. Neither the terminator or the policeman will leave these cases unattended until voting is complete. After the vote, they will be sealed in a steel vault in case there is any questions about the outcome."

John then opened his case and took out a sample ballot to show to the cameras. "This is the ballot. The color changes, and does so by discrete stages. Under magnification it is clear where these changes are, and will prove whether this is a real ballot or a fake one. Down the middle is a silver line that has microwords written on it. Again all ballots read the same. If the words are not clear under magnification, it's a fake. On the bottom is a serial number, and it to be taken off by the person using the ballot. Each person will keep the strip at the bottom with your serial number. You vote on this ballot, and will write down your serial number in the polling log after voting. The votes will be counted against the serial number log to verify every vote has been counted. Keep it, this is your proof you cast your vote. Once voting is done, then the cases will be shut and taken for counting and the voting log will be taken with it. There, under the watchful eyes of police and terminators, all votes will be counted and filed. Unused ballots will also be counted to ensure the total number of ballots is correct. If you have any questions, ask the people at your polling place."

John thought this should this should take care of the matter. He did notice Zerek wasn't looking happy.

.

John stayed on 34 that night. Julie laid beside him cuddled up. Getting a live feed from FNN. He laid in bed watching the news in the nice large room 34 had fixed up for him. On the decent sized TV, The news people were talking to passing people to get their opinion of the coming 'historic' election.

Gently rubbing Julie's back, John listened to various opinions. One man was insistent they needed a new way to divide the 'colonies' because they weren't colonies any more. He thought they should be divided into different sections of the city. Another man saw no reason to change representatives, he thought his was doing well. Another made a case to remove the whole Quorum and get John Connor to run for office.

Julie chuckled at that. "Yay, vote for John," she said and giggled again.

"I hate politics, "John grumbled.

Julie sat up half over him. "Then you could make peace easier, right?" she asked with a crooked grin.

"No, no, no," John said, frowning at her. He then petted her face and said, "You can do it, Julie. I think it should be Julie Colin…. For president!"

"Me?"

"Yes, you," he said grinning at her. "The woman in charge. Seeking out the answers for your people."

Julie eyed him and said, "There is only one answer I want, Mr. Connor," she said. "WHEN are you going to make love to me?"

Petting her side he asked, "Oh, do I interest you?"

She punched him in the arm. "Well… yeah! Why do you think I've been sleeping with you all this time?"

"Umm, to keep warm?" he asked with a shrug and a silly grin.

"Don't even tell me you're not interested," she warned.

Something about the serious look on her face made John laugh. "I am," he admitted. "Are you sure you are ready to maybe have a child?"

"There is …" Julie stopped mid sentence. She was going to say, there is birth control'. Then she thought about the changes she had gone through. "My birth control might not work?" she asked.

John shrugged. "I don't know. I have no data on that."

Julie frowned at him. "That's not very reassuring."

"Sorry," he offered. Seeing her frown deepen, he said, "We should talk to Eleanor when we get back. I know Mom put a limit on kids at two, but I don't know how she did it."

Casting him a wry grin, she said, "You know, most guys would just go ahead anyway and not worry about it."

In a serious tone, John said, "I do worry. You are special to me Julie. I don't want to see you having a baby, and not be prepared for it."

"You'll help me, won't you?"

"Of course I will."

Julie stared at him, then dropped her head on his chest. "Damnit John!" she said into his chest. "I'm ready to say 'Frack it', and let whatever happens, happen. I just don't think I'm ready yet."

John kissed her head. "Then let's take it slow, OK?"

Julie growled and slid back in place at his side. "This isn't easy," she stated.

"For me either," John confided. "Julie, I want you but I don't want to make a mistake. You're too important to me."

She thumped him on the chest. "We're seeing Eleanor the moment we get back!" she stated.

"We are."

.

In the morning, Julie went down to the surface with John to monitor the election. This election was big. The polling tent by the space port had a long line in front of it that meandered beside the road. Signs proclaiming the need for a quorum were posted. Signs telling people their representative was working for them, and other signs stating the people needed 'new blood' were everywhere.

Walking to the building where the counting and verification was to be done, Julie met and greeted some of her ex-marine friends. John wasn't paying much attention to the signs until Julie tugged on his hand.

"You're running, John?" she asked.

"No," he said. He then followed her pointing finger to a sign that read : WRITE IN JOHN CONNOR JUNIOR FOR PRESIDENT

He stared at it. "I can't run," he told her.

"Write ins are allowed," Julie said with a mischievous grin.

"I'm not a colonial," he countered. "I can't hold any office on this planet."

"You better let someone know," the burly marine said. "I know quit a few people who planned on writing your name in."

"No, tell them not to! I'm not a colonial!" John cried. He searched the crowd and did see a reporter. John hurried over to the man. "Excuse me," John said, getting his attention.

"Here we have the mystery candidate," the man beamed at him. "Mr. Connor, what do you think your chances of upsetting the presidency are?"

John took the mike and said, "Zip, zilch, none! Everyone listen, please! I am not a colonial, I can't run in your election. Even if you vote for me, I can't take any colonial office."

"Even if the people think you are the best man for the job?" the reporter asked.

"Even then. Look, my government is on another planet. I serve THEM. I cannot take a position in your government. It's called a conflict of interest, and it can't be allowed. So please, don't write me in."

"That is going to be a let down for thousands of people," the reporter said firmly.

"It may be, and I'm sorry about that. I really am, but It's something I am not allowed to do," John explained.

"You have a government position on another planet? What is it?"

John did his best to explain. "OK, We found Reach. I'm the senior General there so that means I am already provisional Governor of the planet until we get settled enough to have a real ruling body, or until I am relieved. Once we get settlers, usually by town, representatives are selected, and the people will vote on a real Governor. That will probably take years."

"So Reach is opening up for settlers?"

"Not yet, but it will be," John said. "Right now we have no civilian infrastructure. We are still new there and very concerned with the cylons. Once we get that problem taken care of then, yes, I am sure we will get plenty of people. We're planning on it. At the moment, we don't even have roads or any services. We are working hard at it, but it's going to take time."

"Will colonials be welcome to Reach?"

"Eventually, everyone will. An immigration process will be in place. Of course it will be Earth laws that are upheld there, not Colonial law. That may rattle some folks."

"There is a difference?"

"From what I've seen, yes. You have to remember, there are many humans on Earth, but there is also AI's and cyborgs that have the same rights and responsibilities. It may be too much for a colonial to handle, seeing your history. At the moment, there are no humans on Reach save for a colonial representative. It is still considered too dangerous for humans to inhabit. There is too much we don't know about Reach, and as I said, we are still dealing with the cylon threat."

"Can you tell me some of the things you are doing to make Reach safer?"

"The planet is being surveyed for danger we can detect or foresee. Tectonic plate movements, volcanoes, we are tracking the planet and the surrounding planets in the system for interactions, as well as the smaller asteroids. We study plant and animal growth and are tracking rainfall. It would be a disaster if say, a nice large plain looks wonderful so a town is built there, then a big flood comes along and washes it away. We need to know the weather patterns so we know where safe zones are, and where there is danger."

"You are making sure the planet isn't just habitable, but also stable."

"Right. We already got one partially unstable planet. We don't need another. So far, everything is looking good, but we still had a ton of work to do," John explained.

"What about cylons? Will they be welcome to Reach?"

"If they can obey the laws and are wiling to become citizens, they will. As I said before we don't discriminate on what you are, but on what your actions are. It is up to whoever is immigrating to figure out if they want to live under our laws."

"You have cylons in system now, as I understand."

John explained the best he could. "We do. Look, those cylons who have come are ones who do not want to fight. They came for refuge to be protected from the war mongering cylons. They have evolved into sentient beings. They realized there is much more to life than combat. They want to be part of something greater. I'm only giving them the chance to be more than they are, to be able to work at science instead of just shooting a gun. To be able to study and learn and be useful beings that can enhance civilization for the good of all."

"Can you give an example of your laws?"

John thought for a second then said, "Do to others as you would have them do to you. You respect them, they respect you. Obviously, stealing, killing, invading someone's privacy, there are all common things that are illegal. There may be other laws as we develop to protect people and the environment based on common sense, like don't pour waste into the river people need for drinking water. Some we will have to see as we develop."

"You are speaking like you have a perfect society."

John laughed and said, "Nothing's perfect. No one, no thing. All anyone can do is try their best."

"Is there anyone you can suggest to people to write in on their ballot?"

"I'm not going there," John said firmly. "This is your election, I am staying neutral, It's not my business."

"But there must be someone you'd like to see get elected."

John shook is head. "Even if there was, I can't say. I will not put doubt or praise on anyone who's running." John looked over at government building. "I should be going now. And people, please, do not write me in!"

.

John went with Baltar and his to check the large room where the votes would be counted. He scanned the walls and floor for possible 'secret' cavities or other places ballots could be hiding, or hidden in. At a couple tables, John found slots in the floor that lead to cavities underneath. The cavities were empty. He had the slots sealed by nailing planks over them. Once they verified the room was secure, John took a seat to wait.

As John waited, his radio spoke. "John, Jasper here, can you talk?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Caprica just returned with her ship. The place they went looking for cylons at was empty. Not only no ships, but all the equipment was gone also."

"They have moved back?" John asked.

"They have moved away. There is no sign of them on any colonies or in their home area. Think they are going to mass up for one large assault?"

"Hard to say. The logical thing to do would be to pull away and regroup. What they have planned after that is pure guesswork. If I was getting my ass beat, I'd move. Keep the patrols out, just in case they get stupid. Did we get any more big guns in yet?"

"A few. I'll give you details when you get back. Happy voting day."

"Thanks. Connor out."

Lee Adama stuck his head in the door. "General Connor, it seems like you did very well with those ballots. People are praising your security measures."

John got up and wandered over to him. "I try. Did you go vote yet?

"I did," he said with a smile. "Zerek isn't too happy, he scrutinized the ballot and swore you had a way to make the elections go like you wanted them to. He thinks there is some way to change people's votes."

John let out a snort. "Maybe because he can't?" he asked.

"My thoughts as well. We tested a sample, trying to copy it. Like you said, there is an obvious difference in the copied version. Not to mention the word 'Fake' appeared on the copy in big letters. How'd you do that?"

"Optical trickery," John said with a grin. "It was Eleanor's idea."

"Good idea. I found out the third option was also Zerek's idea. I think he was trying to weasel his way into becoming king. At least now, he'd have to have public support," Lee said, then asked, "Do you have word on the cylons?"

John leaned against the wall and said, "They've gone into hiding. We caught them at a meeting spot, and tore up a few more of their ships, including the Hub ship that lets them resurrect. They fled, we haven't seen a single aggressive cylon since."

"You know they are planning something," Lee sad evenly.

John shrugged and said, "I do, the thing is until we find out what that thing is, all we can do is keep an eye out for them. I'm not going to waste all my resources searching for them. They did what I wanted. They went away."

"You're not afraid they'll come back?"

"I am concerned yes, but I won't live in fear or what they will do. First of all, it will take them years to rebuild what they've lost. Second, if they are trying to duplicate our tech, they will take even longer working at it. They are machines, good at solving known problems. They, like any AI's, don't have the imagination to figure out how to do the impossible."

"You really think that?"

"I know it. Lee, in all the time the cylons have been off by themselves, what original ideas have they come up with?" John asked.

Lee thought then said, "Their FLT is better than ours. They figured out how to bring back the dead…." He stopped when John's head shook.

"Improving a known way to travel is not inventing. As far as their resurrection system, they don't bring back the dead, they make clones of the dead," John explained. "The only thing they improved on is getting data from a living being and bursting it when that being dies so the clone can be made. Again, an improvement, not truly inventing something new."

Lee chuckled and said, "You are a ray of hope."

"No, I can just see both sides, and I know history," John told him. "Even Sky Net, the most tactically intelligent AI ever conceived, had a hard time dealing with Dad's attacks, because he did not always follow logic. It ended up reacting to him, which put it on the defensive. That's why Dad won, he out thought it in ways it could not comprehend."

Footsteps came down the hallway. John looked out to see a terminator and a policeman coming with the first ballot box.

At first, the boxes trickled in, then came in a near steady flow. John watched over verifying the appropriate number of ballots was in each box, then the counting. After each box was counted, the results for that box was written on the top, and the next box was verified and counted.

By nightfall, the will of the people was heard. Overwhelmingly, the people of New Caprica wanted a new Quorum.

John was then asked to make another set of ballots for the next coming election. He saw a bad trend in this.

.

While John was busy with the voting on the surface, Julie got a primer on Cyborg health and physiology from Eleanor.

Sitting Julie down in a lounge on 34, Eleanor explained, "Julie, you have all but become the same strain of cyborg as John is. A human, solid metal terminator mix. Your new metal endoskeleton and associated plating over your vital areas is 89 percent complete. Have you gotten an HUD yet?"

"You mean a terrain and heat sensor like in my combat helmet?"

"Similar, but when you get your HUD, that you will see information in your vision wearing no helmet, it will tell you about your own body also."

"Cool!" Julie beamed. "How do I activate it?"

"If you are threatened or stressed, it will come up on it's own. Once you see it, you'll be able to call it up, or suppress it. One of the things you'll be able to do is control whether or not you are able to have a child," Eleanor explained. "If you don't want to have a child, disable your egg production. Enable it if you want one."

"Really?" Julie squeaked happily. "I don't need to take birth control pills any more?"

"They are doing nothing now anyway. If you're suppose to be able to have a baby, the nanites in you will correct whatever the birth control was trying to do. That is, until you let them know, through your HUD, that you don't want to have a baby."

"Good! I hate taking those stupid things! So, I just have to wait until my HUD comes up?"

Eleanor nodded. Standing up, she said, "Here, let's give it a try." She grabbed Julie by the collar and cocked back to punch her.

Afraid Eleanor was really going to punch her, she tried to recoil. A translucent red screen appeared over Eleanor.

 **Hostile action by T-1001 model Terminator**

 **Recommended action : Evade**

"Wait! I see it!" Julie cried. She thought about her ability to have children and another message came up.

 **Childbearing ability : 73 % functional**

She thought about not wanting to have kids, and the ability dropped to zero percent.

"It's THAT easy?" Julie asked.

Eleanor let her go and lowered her fist. "Yes, dear, it's that easy. You have control over your own body. If you are hurt now, you will see the damage and you can control the nanites on what to heal first."

Julie let out a giggle. Shooting her arms in the air, she shouted, "I LOVE being a cyborg!"


	15. Chapter 15

Ch 15

John was getting ready to leave when one of Baltar's aides hurried in. "Mr. President, Mr. Connor, there is a live feed from the base star being played on the news." Baltar turned the TV on. Four cylon women were facing the camera.

"… and the grand army of Napoleon was defeated to the shock of every country in Europe. We explain this so you will understand 34's feelings. This song from Earth is for John Connor from base star 34. It is subtitled in Colonial at the bottom of the screen."

Lively music began to play. The four bio cylons started singing.

 _My My!_

 _At Waterloo Napoleon did surrender_

 _OH YEAH!_

 _And I have met my destiny in_

 _quite a similar way_

 _The history book on the shelf_

 _Is always repeating itself_

 _._

 _Waterloo!_

 _I was defeated you won the war_

 _._

 _Waterloo!_

 _Promise to love you forever more_

 _._

 _Waterloo!_

 _Couldn't escape if I wanted to_

 _._

 _Waterloo!_

 _Knowing my fate is to be with you_

 _._

 _Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa_

 _Waterloo!_

 _Finally facing my Waterloo_

 _._

 _MY MY!_

 _I tried to hold you back_

 _But you were stronger_

 _OH YEAH!_

 _And not it seems my only chance_

 _is giving up the fight_

 _And how could I ever refuse_

 _I feel like I win when I lose!_

 _._

 _Waterloo!_

 _I was defeated you won the war_

 _._

 _Waterloo!_

 _Promise to love you forever more_

 _._

 _Waterloo!_

 _Couldn't escape if I wanted to_

 _._

 _Waterloo!_

 _Knowing my fate is to be with you_

 _._

 _Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa_

 _Waterloo!_

 _Finally facing my Waterloo_

 _._

 _So how could I ever refuse_

 _I feel like I win when I lose!_

 _._

 _Waterloo!_

 _Couldn't escape if I wanted to_

 _._

 _Waterloo!_

 _Knowing my fate is to be with you_

 _._

 _Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa_

 _Waterloo!_

 _Finally facing my Waterloo_

John laughed and clapped. "They were good!" he said proudly.

"They are happy they lost?" Baltar asked.

"34 is," John said. With a shake of his head he added, "I really have to find a better name for that ship."

.

By the time John got back up to 34, Colonial radio stations were already playing Waterloo. Apparently, the colonials were starved for good music. John wondered if he should get a concert organized for them. He figured that would be good for his people as well. Pondering this he almost missed Julie running at him.

Bracing himself he accepted her hug as she flung herself into him, beaming him a smile.

"John! I have an HUD now! I can control my own body!" she beamed at him.

"Wow, good for you," he agreed. "So you are turning into a true cyborg, huh?"

"I am," she said happily. "I am 89.3 percent there."

John laughed. "Congratulations. It looks like I picked good," he beamed back at her.

Julie's smile grew lusty as she grabbed him by the collar and said, "Since I can control my bodily functions, I turned off my ability to have babies, sooo I hope you have some energy left."

Frowning playfully, John said, "Hmmm, not sure. Maybe we should go find out."

"Lets."

.

John was feeling really good when they reentered orbit around Reach. Snuggled up with Julie after their second round of sex, he kissed her head and petted her softly. "Wish we had a priest or someone to marry us," he pondered aloud.

Julie popped her head up. "Really?" she squeaked.

He kissed her nose and said, "Really. That is …. If you want to."

Julie sat up on him to hold his face in her hands. "John Connor, I would be very happy to be your wife." he was then smothered in kisses. The kisses became deeper and longer. That lead to more heavy petting and more sex. Entwined, they fully enjoyed each other. It wasn't long after they finished another round of lust filled joy that the speaker in their room sounded out.

"John Connor, Jason called for you. You are needed at the spaceport command center."

John let out a groan and said, "Give me five, I'll be up shortly."

"Damn," Julie grumbled. "I wanted to cuddle more."

"Me too, but duty calls … damn it."

.

The Spaceport command center had grown into a double tiered facility with antennas, defensive arms and sensors atop the mountain it was in. 34 had a heavy raider waiting, so John with Julie beside him got on the raider to ride it down to the surface. Upon getting off the Raider on the landing pad, there was a reception committee of ten cyborg men in UCE uniforms to meet them. They came to attention and saluted when John approached them.

Holding their salutes, one said in a strong voice, "Welcome back, General Connor. We are to escort you to the control center."

John returned their salute. Not recognizing any of them, he said, "Thank you. Is there a reason for such formality?"

"Yes, Sir. We are part of the delegation from Earth to check on your progress here."

'Hoo boy,' John thought. After his tumble with Julie, he hadn't bothered to put a uniform back on. He'd just thrown on a pair of pants and a shirt. He hadn't been expecting a formal party from Earth! He was sure he'd be chewed out by some general or a diplomat.

The ride to the control center was quiet. They arrived on the first floor and were escorted up to the second floor.

"Wow, I didn't know all this was here," Julie said as she held John's hand and gazed at the rows of panels.

"Yes, we're monitoring not only ships in orbit, but also environmental conditions around the planet and finding trends," he told her. "We have to be sure this planet is suitable for long term settlements, and where those settlements should be."

Going to the command center, his escorts except for one man, stayed outside. He went in to find Jasper explaining things to an auburn haired, slim woman wearing a light blue suit, white shirt and red tie. He knew her face immediately. His sister was here.

Aww shit. 'This day just went to hell,' he thought. Formally, he said, "Welcome, Ma'am President."

Sarah acknowledged him with a nod. "General Connor, from what I have seen, your people are doing well."

John noted she was giving credit to 'his people'. Fine, whatever. Wearing a false smile he said, "We try. So far this planet is looking to be suitable. Volcanic activity is very low, the youngest one we found, Eleanor thinks it is over two million years old. No measurable tectonic plate movement yet, no tremors. So far this planet seems super-stable."

"Mr. Young has also informed me you have stopped the war going on in this section of space?"

"I've had help, but that is mostly correct," he said. "The aggressive Cylons have moved away. I have no plans in chasing them, only to send out messages that it's over. No more aggression as long as they show no aggression. The Colonial humans have their own planet, which we are monitoring. So far, all is going well."

Focusing on Julie who was holding John's hand, Sarah asked, "Who is this?"

"Julie Colin," Julie said quickly. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ma'dam President."

"Where are you from, Julie Colin?"

"Originally, Picon in the Colonies," Julie said, then noting the President didn't seem happy about that. she asked, "Is there a problem with that?"

Sarah gave her a brief smile and asked, "Are your people doing well?"

"Much better now, thanks to John," Julie replied.

Sarah turned to Jasper. "Mr. Young, may General Connor and I use your office for a short time?"

"Sure." he said and eyed John.

Julie picked up Jasper's reaction. She decided to turn up her hearing.

John didn't know why, but he knew Sarah was upset about something. She had picked up the 'twitchy' habit on her left hand from their mother. She was trying to hide it, but he knew she wasn't happy about something. "We'll be right back," He told Julie.

John went over and opened the office door for Sarah. He shut the door and she turned on him. "What are you doing, John?" she asked wearing a blank face.

"Just what you wanted. I stopped the war and found a nice planet our people can live on," he said firmly.

"You also have cylon ships here in orbit, one you outfitted with rail guns, giving them our technology. You seem very close to that Colonial girl, and from what I understand, you have taken one of the cylon ships as your command ship, AND you transported an alien predator onto THIS planet," she said in a hard tone. "How do you justify that as being acceptable?"

John eyed her for a moment, then said, "Well, what do you expect from the 'stupid' John Connor?" he asked in reply.

"There is no call for that," Sarah snapped.

"Since you don't know what's been going on here, there is no call for you to question what I'm doing," he retorted.

"I can have you replaced," Sarah stated.

"Then do it," he snapped back. "Just say the word, and I go back down to my house and stop worrying about this whole mess."

"You are impossible!" she growled, her eyes flashing red. "John, you can't go doing as you please! People's lives are depending on you."

"Wow, and here I thought I just got shot out here to have a good time," he replied heavily.

Sarah's hand was twitching visibly now. "John, enough with the sarcasm. I need to know why you have been breaking what has been acceptable procedures."

John scowled at her. Raising his voice some, he asked, "Have you ever thought that maybe I had to go above and beyond to gain the trust of these warlike imbeciles?" he asked. "Or possibly that situations I found myself in needed answers that do not conform with any 'rules' people a quarter of the way around the galaxy ever thought of? Take a look around, Sis. I am accomplishing my mission with minimal loss of life, is that, or is that not acceptable?"

"You are involved with a Colonial."

"I am. If I hadn't rescued her and another woman, they would have been shot into space without a suit and died. I suppose that would be a better solution?" he asked.

With a flash of red eyes Sarah said, "That is not what I mean, John! You are dating an alien!"

"My business, not yours," he countered.

Raising her voice, Sarah said, "It IS my business when the top representative of Earth and the provisional governor of this whole world do not follow UCE laws!"

"Really? What law have I not followed?" John asked in a challenge.

"Transportation of a dangerous animal out of it's habitat," she stated.

"Written on Earth to prevent invasive species from overtaking the indigenous population," John retorted. "Guess what, this isn't Earth, and those 'animals' you are talking about are pretty damn intelligent. Not only that, I have found no equivalent to them here, So they are not displacing or overtaking anything."

"John, you have given alien ships our technology," she stated.

"I did. Ones that are under my complete control, and have become part of Reach."

"You let them live here?" Sarah asked raising her voice more.

"Would you rather have me send them back to fight with their own people?" John asked, waving an arm. "And here I thought I was suppose to stop conflict, not keep it going."

The door burst open. Julie stood in the doorway, glaring at Sarah. "Stop yelling at John," she said firmly.

"This is a private matter," Sarah told her.

"That we can all hear anyway," Julie replied, then ripped into Sarah. "Look, you may be top dog on Earth, but you don't know SHIT about John or what he's gone through. Just so you know, the people here, and I'm talking Colonial, cylon… everyone, love John. It was HIM who brought peace and let my people settle without fear of being attacked. It was HIM who got everyone together to talk. Never in my life have I ever conceived the thought cylons and colonials would sit down and have dinner at the same table. Such a thing was impossible! It blew my mind when he actually made it happen, and everyone behaved! Yes, there are colonials here and cylons. Guess what? Even though we are both here, no one's fighting. We all look to John for guidance and support, and he gives it. John does his best for everyone, no matter who they are, so how about showing a little respect, HUH?"

John braced himself for Sarah to explode, wishing Julie hadn't just done that. Sarah did not like to get talked down to. Surprisingly, Sarah held her composure.

In an even tone Sarah said, "Thank you for your input, Miss Colin. Now please leave."

"Do not yell at John again," Julie said firmly. She shut the door stiffly on her way out.

John coughed. Resisting the urge to smirk, he said, "Julie gets emotional from time to time."

"I can see that." Sarah said in a normal tone of voice. "Is what she said true?"

John thought for a moment, then said, "Why don't you go find out for yourself? I doubt you take much of what I say with anything more than a tiny grain of salt."

"John, I do not hate you."

"Yes you do," he stated as his left hand began to twitch. "I killed our mother, remember? I'm the stupid one who granted her only illogical wish. The one she begged us to do." Not wanting to be around her any more, he asked, "Are we done yet?"

"Yes," Sarah said in a flat tone. She turned and strode out. John followed at a distance.

Sarah left with her entourage to 'inspect' what other facilities were on Reach and 'get a good look' at the planet. She didn't ask John to come, and he didn't volunteer. So much the better.

.

After his meeting with his sister, Julie noted John was no longer in a good mood. In fact, at any given moment, he looked ready to cry. He talked to Jasper and got the latest intel on the planet and happenings, then the two constructed a message to send out to the remaining cylons back in the colonies. Carefully worded, John assured the cylons that he was not going to peruse them, his goals had been met - to keep them and humans separated. Except for a search for any leftover humans on Colonial planets, he was not going to send anyone else there or attempt to take over or build bases there. As far as he was concerned, that was now cylon territory. John ordered ten beacons emitting this message to be scattered around the area of the 12 colonies, and stealth ships to cover the colonies in search of humans left there. The rescue was voluntary, anyone who wanted to come was welcome, any who wanted to stay would be helped as much as possible and left on their own.

After he was done discussing things with Jasper, Julie steered him back home to their house by the river. It was a long walk, but she felt John needed some time to think. Of course walking along when an arm around each other was nice too.

The road that started out at the spaceport as a smooth, hard topped road turned into a dirt road after they passed the paving crew, who they waved to as they went by. Julie was enjoying the walk, and after a while, John was liking it also. The scenery was nice and for the moment, there was no worries.

Hearing a vehicle coming from behind, they stepped off the road to let it pass. The vehicle stopped. Derek was driving. All four rows of seats were full. He jerked a thumb behind him and said, "I heard you were back, John. Your sister's here. Want a ride? We were going to you house, we heard she's there now."

John cast him a brief smile. "Thanks, but no."

"We're taking time for ourselves, but thank you for asking," Julie offered.

"OK, should I tell Sarah you're coming?" Derek asked.

"Please don't," Julie said.

"Yeah, we're going to be a while," John added.

"OK," Derek said, and continued down the road.

John stopped and watched them go.

"Hey, you know what we haven't done in a while?" Julie asked brightly to get John to look at her. "You like those wild tubers that grow down by the river. Let's go get some."

"Sounds like a plan," he told her. They left the road and headed for the river. They walked along for a while and John said, "Thank you."

"For?" Julie asked.

"Just thank you, for everything," he said and cast her a quick smile.

"Was that a smile I just saw?" Julie asked, teasing him.

"Yeah, just for you," he said, grinning.

.

What Julie Colin had told Sarah turned out to be true. Everyone Sarah met had nothing but good things to say about John. The Cylon named Victoria was very grateful for John, and if he had allowed it, she wanted to be his mate. The Colonial representative thought John performed miracles. She could be rotated out, but she liked staying here, no matter how 'strange' it was with all the wild animals roaming around and all the centurions. She felt safe here. Talking to the Captain of base star 37 that had come in damaged from their own people, and was repaired here, he'd come to thank John for letting them stay in a safe place. He also had nothing but praise for John Connor. She even got to meet the Raptors who although large, were at least semi intelligent and got along with people. They even had their nests in John's house.

.

Eleanor Weaver came home to find Sarah and her entourage in and around the house, guarding the President. After proving who she was, she was allowed to go in. She found Sarah in the living / dining room relaxing in John's favorite chair.

"John's not here," Eleanor said as she took a seat near Sarah.

"Hello, Eleanor. Do you know when he'll be home?" Sarah asked.

"He won't be. Not as long as you are here," Eleanor stated.

"I need to talk to John," Sarah said.

"More questioning why he does things?" Eleanor asked with a raised eyebrow. "Jasper told me about how you let him know how badly he's doing."

Sarah eyed her, tightening her grip on the arm rests. "What I have to talk to John about is personal. I would like to have privacy if you don't mind."

"I do mind," Eleanor said. Leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees, she said, "You may be President of Earth, but this is not Earth, and you are in our house. Yes, me, John, Julie, Jasper, Nancy, we all live here. If you are thinking to boot me out of my house, then you better be ready to get your ass kicked out the door. Since you refused to be John's family, we have taken up that role. If you have business with John, there are other places to conduct it."

Sarah shot to her feet, glaring at Eleanor. Eleanor followed suit, glaring back.

"Can you tell me why John volunteered to be out here to begin with?" Sarah asked flatly.

"If anyone, you should know the answer to that," Eleanor replied. "I was at the funeral for your parents, if you remember. Don't you realize it killed John to pull his mother's chip? Instead of at least keeping quiet because YOU didn't have the stomach to do it, you had to yell at him and insult him right in front of everyone. I'm surprised you didn't pull a full blown fit. Well guess what, Miss Logical, you made a real ass out of yourself. If it wasn't for consoling John, I had the strong urge to take you outside and ugly up that face of yours some! John was devastated, and you didn't give a shit. Yes, I know why John took that PDE ride. To get away from you!"

Stepping closer to Sarah, Eleanor said, "To John, you are nothing but a bad memory. And now you invade the one place where John can relax. How fucking thoughtful of you."

Sarah's voice quivered as she said, "I need to talk to John."

"Are you here on official business?" Eleanor asked.

"It's personal."

"Then take your guards and go so John can at least relax in his own home."

Stiffly, Sarah turned and walked to the doorway where she stopped. Not looking back, she asked, "Can you please tell John I'm sorry. I do miss him. Even though he did something stupid by coming out here by himself, he has done wonders here."

"I'll tell him you want to talk to him," Eleanor said firmly. "You'll have to apologize to him face to face, not through me."

Without another word, Sarah strode out.

.

John and Julie had collected so many tubers they had they arms full. Spotting Sarah's guard around the house, they decided to go washed the tubers off in the river and pull the roots and remaining stems off.

"They look pan ready," Julie said, inspecting one.

"They do at that. Less work in the kitchen," John agreed.

They both knew they were wasting time, waiting for Sarah to leave. Julie was sympathetic to John, but this was on the verge of being ridiculous. Gathering up her armload, she said, "John, I'm going home. If Sarah is still there, I'm kicking her out. This is getting silly."

"Julie, please don't," he said with a wince.

Julie told him, "You can wait here if you want. She is not going to keep us out of our own house." She took a few steps.

John called, "All right, wait for me." He gathered up his armload and went with her. He was not going to let Julie face Sarah's wrath by herself.

.

John got home to find Eleanor had already kicked his sister out of the house. Worse yet, Sarah wanted to see him. John was stiffening himself to go see what she wanted.

Julie latched onto him and dragged him to their room. "Not tonight. You are going to relax with me."

Letting out a huff, he let her push him in their bedroom. "Julie, I'm going to have to face her anyway."

"Maybe, but not tonight," Julie stated.

.

Even though he didn't get much rest, Julie fooled with him enough to get into a better mood and at least smile. By morning he'd gained enough willpower back to face his sister and swallowed his anger. He even put a uniform on. Julie still came with him, hand clasped in his. Instead of friendly, it felt possessive. He had a feeling that if given the chance, Julie was going to rip into Sarah again.

This was going to one long day.

Thankfully, Sarah met John at the environmental monitoring center with Derek. They went over wind flows and ocean currents they were tracking, and the pole precession. Only 60% of the land masses had been scanned, but so far they had found nothing that might prevent habitation. On every continent, there was an abundance of life. Even in the hot, dry equatorial region, animals had been spotted along the coasts.

"I was going to give it a full year, but so far this planet looks habitable," John said. "Some things, we will have to take a chance on, but I don't see any disasters coming right away. Even if this planet cools or heats up for some unknown reason, there will be time to move people out if we can't deal with it."

"What about the cylon threat?" Sarah asked.

John shrugged and said, "We keep up a solid defense. From everything I know, the aggressive cylons had bugged out. I got a few ships that went back to the colonies to send out beacons telling them it's over. We won't be coming after them as long as they don't come after us. If there are any humans we find on those radioactive planets, we'll give them the option to take them to New Caprica, the colonial planet. Other than that, we stick to our own. There are some colonials and cylons who want to live here. I was going to work with Derek and Eleanor to come up with an immigration plan, which will include classes on language, moral code and laws. The official language for Reach will be English. I don't want street fights because some cylon met a colonial at the marketplace."

Sarah nodded slowly and said, Very well. Let me know when you are comfortable bringing immigrants to Reach. There are tens of thousands on waiting lists to come. Besides basic Planetary Earth law, you will be the Governor, so choose your laws carefully."

"I will. I was going to start construction on some factories too, we're going to need to be as self sufficient as possible. Plus, when people come, they are going to need jobs."

Clearly, so everyone in the room was able to hear, Sarah said, "Governor Connor, you have done very well here. There are things I must attend to at home. Please escort me to the PDE."

John walked Sarah to the PDE in the Spaceport with her guards, Julie sticking close beside John.

Sarah was quiet for the first part of the walk. She then glanced at John and said, "I am sorry I made you take action on something I did not. I said wrong and hurtful things to you. I was being selfish, I did not want to see mother to die as well. I never hated you, John. I hated my own inaction. I knew want mother needed, and I could not do it. Because I could not, I blamed you. I am sorry, John. Will you please forgive me."

John looked at her, stunned. "Sure, done. That wasn't easy for either of us," he said automatically. He put an arm around her and said, "It's OK. Water under the bridge, are we good?"

"We're good," Sarah said firmly, and put an arm around him.

They stopped to hug for a moment, then released each other except for clasped hands.

"Take care, huh, Sis? Next time you come, stay at the house with us."

"I will. You take care John. Let me know if you need anything at all."

"Same goes for you," John said sincerely.

John watched Sarah get on the PDE with a few of her guards. John waved, Sarah waved back, then they were gone in a flash of light.

Julie came up and slipped an arm around John. "I'd say that was a whole lot better."

John looked at her and smiled. "Yeah, it was," he said with a happy sigh.

Sporting a grin, Julie said, "I just hope when she comes back, Eleanor will let her in the house. From what Nancy said, Eleanor looked ready to beat the crap out of her."

"I'm sure it will be fine," John said hopefully.

.

Things calmed down the next couple months. The Colonials were going to have another election for the new quorum , so John had a new set of ballots printed up. Colonial ships came by on a weekly basis. Many wanted to see Reach. Baltar came with Admiral Adama to talk with John.

Upon their landing, a raptor met them with their usual greeting. Open the door, stuck it's head in an hooted. After Baltar passed out from fright, they waited until he recovered before getting him out. Even then, he was skittish around the now five foot tall creatures. Well, five feet in their normal bent-over gait. If they rose upright, tail on the ground, head in the air, they were eight feet four inches tall.

John, Julie, Victoria, Eleanor, Jasper, Nancy and the three raptors were still living in the sod covered house they originally made. On a knoll nearby, the land was being cleared and construction was going on for a 'proper' Governor's house. A vote had been taken by everyone except John, and it was decided John and his family deserved a nice house to live in that didn't grow grass on the outside.

Walking to the sod covered house, Baltar kept his head on a swivel. "This is a very interesting place. Very nice, but also very wild," he said nervously.

"It is," John agreed. "Lots of potential. So far, all's looking good for allowing people to immigrate."

Before they got to the door, the raptor with the red feathers pattern on his chest opened it from the inside, causing Baltar to yelp out and fall on his ass.

The raptor hooted at John and grabbed his hand to tow him inside. John went with him.

"They go inside the house?" Baltar asked weakly.

"From what I understand, they have free run," Adama told him. "Let's go see what it wanted."

The door to the first room on the left inside was open, a feathered tail stuck out into the hallway. Inside, John was squatted down by another raptor on a bed of blankets and feathers. The raptor lifted up to show there were eggs under it, then settled back down.

"All right!" John said happily and rubbed the raptor under it's chin. It cooed to him. The other one flapped his arms and hooted.

Nancy stuck her head in. "John did you see?" she asked brightly.

"I did. Are we going to have to hunt for her?"

"That would be best, a mother needs to stay with her eggs until they hatch," Nancy agreed. "Julie's out now with a hunting and research party." She then turned to Adama and Baltar. "Hello, I am Nancy Reese."

Adama bowed to her. "I'm William Adama, this is the Colonial President, Guias Baltar. "Pleased to meet you."

"Are you staying for dinner?" Nancy asked. "It's my turn to cook today. I know, you're colonials, so how about some nice thick steaks slow cooked? Does that sound good?"

"A whole big chunk of meat?" Baltar asked hopefully.

Nancy nodded. She held up a raw steak that was nearly two inches thick. "Like this, but cooked?"

"Please," Baltar said eyeing it hungrily.

"Great!" she beamed. She went in and gave the steak to the egg sitting raptor and petted her. "Oh, John, the construction crew added a 'raptor room' for the new house. We figured we'll need it."

"It's your project, have at it," he said. "Just don't stick me in a closet."

Nancy laughed. "Oh no, you and Julie will be quite comfortable," she said with a wink.

John led Adama and Baltar to the living room. They sat in plush chairs Baltar hadn't expected since the outside of the house was so rough.

Adama said, "I've been giving thought to your trade proposals, as has President Baltar," he told John. "We've found an abundance of minerals and we really could use extra protein, namely meat, as well as fuel. There are no tillium deposits close by us, and I remember you said you have plenty?"

John said, "I can have more delivered, yes. The cylons here need it too, and they have found a source. Two of their ships are off on a mining expedition now. They are still very nervous about the Cavil loyalists returning so they keep three ships in orbit to help guard us. This system isn't the most heavily populated, planet or asteroid wise, but one twelve light years away has plenty of stuff around the sun there. The cylon ships make very good cargo haulers."

"I don't think our people would be very comfortable with them in orbit," Adama said in a musing tone.

"Then you can send your cargo ships here," John replied. "They bring minerals and go home with food and fuel. Everyone wins."

"I will agree to that," Baltar said.

"What about the monetary value?" Adama asked. "How do we reconcile our credits with your currency?"

John thought for a second and said, "I'll have Harry Cooper handle that. He's good with cost numbers. Him and Jessica have been handling the trade with Earth, so if you can tell me who your go-to guy is, we can get them together to work out the details."

"Sounds good." Baltar agreed. Looking around at the cyborgs, he asked, "John, all of you cyborgs were born and have parents?"

A roar of laughter went up. Jasper fell out of his chair laughing. Baltar flushed.

John stopped chucking enough to say, "Yeah, we do. Even Nancy."

"I've got to tell THIS story!"' Eleanor announced.

Nancy rolled her eyes at the ceiling. "PLEASE be kind to Dad," she begged.

"I will," Eleanor said with a grin. "OK, Nancy's father, Derek Reese, had been through the entire war, right beside John Connor senior and Cameron, John's mother. Through most of the war, Derek hated machines with a capital 'H'. He held no love for Cameron at all. You have to understand, machines were his enemy. Much like cylons have been your enemy. When he found out John Senior and Cameron were having sex, he went on a week long drunken binge. He did finally accept her, but he wasn't happy about it. Near the end of the war, Derek was showing signs of age and the effects of the radiation. Because he was John's uncle, and John had already lost his mother, Cameron began slipping him nanites to improve his health. It worked, but Derek had no idea it was Cameron making him healthier. He thought he was just adjusting to the new environment.

By now, many terminators were on John and Mom's side, and we were winning. Feeling much better now, due to the nanites in him, Derek started spending time with Laura, who was a TX model terminator. Laura looked human and Derek though she was really sexy. It never occurred to him that she might not be human. They became close and at the victory party they got very close. Despite spending two days holed up someplace having sex and enjoying each other, neither though about what each of them were, or brought it up. They were married a couple weeks later. Seeing Derek was already showing age, Laura slipped him some nanites. The ones Cameron gave him had specific functions, to remove radiation effects. Laura wanted Derek around for a long time, so she gave him the builder nanites like John gave Julie. These nanites work to repair whatever is wrong. They heal everything, and if they detect the being they are in does not have a nanite producing gland, they make one. Over the next year, Derek turned into a cyborg.

Derek STILL didn't know what Laura was, or why he was so healthy and looked like he was 30 at 74 years old. Let's just say Derek isn't the brightest bulb on the tree. Loyal and faithful, absolutely, but just not the brightest. Not long after Cameron bore Sarah, Laura wanted a baby also. Derek was also happy at the thought of having a son."

Eleanor snickered and said, "Laura explained to Derek what they had to do to have a baby. It wasn't until then that Derek realized his wife was a terminator. He literally went into shock. He just sat there, staring at nothing for a whole day! Laura got him to a hospital, a psychologist got him to react a day later. Even then, Derek just mumbled. It took another two weeks for him to become fully coherent, and after some jail time for beating the crap out of his doctor then another month of therapy to accept what Laura was, and what he was now. When he was released, Derek and Laura had … shall we say a very emotional reunion. For short while it looked like they were going to split up. They did get all their problems resolved then the hot emotions turned very intimate, and Nancy was born."

"Dad is very protective also," Nancy chimed in. "He wasn't happy when I volunteered to come out here. He feels he has to watch over me. He added his and Mom's name on the immigration list just so they can be here for me," she explained.

"He was tricked?" Baltar asked.

"What 'trick?" Eleanor asked with a frown. "Misunderstanding, sure. When Derek and Laura got together, they were allies, comrades. They had been through the war together on the same side. No one goes and has sex for two straight days, then gets married if they don't want to. I just think it's hilarious that nether of them thought to bring the subject up as to what they were. It never crossed Derek's mind to ask, 'hey, before we get down and dirty, what are you?"

Jasper broke out laughing again. "That is funny," he said, chuckling.

"Yeah, it is," John agreed with a wide grin.

"It is," Julie said with a smirk.

"Derek wasn't the only one," John said. "One of the human doctors met this man she thought the world of. She had problems after she found out he was a triple eight. It took them a while, but they worked it out."

Jasper grinned and said, "At least my parents had their shit together. They knew what they were getting into from the beginning."

Baltar frowned and asked, "John, I heard you can tell what people are by looking at them?"

"We all can," John replied, motioning to his friends.

"D'Anna Biers was a cylon in our fleet, and you found another one in the holds. do you know if there are any others?" Baltar asked.

John shook his head and said, "Not telling. All I'll say is that if, and I stress IF they are there, they are doing their jobs and not causing any problems. D'Anna made a mistake, so did Julie by letting D'Anna know she knew on camera, and had another cylon verify it. D'Anna was doing her job as a reporter and she's good at it. Neither she nor Victoria were hurting anyone, but once they knew others figured out they were cylons, they feared for their lives, and with good reason. I will not put anyone in danger if they are decent, hard working people."

"But, you do know. Don't you think we have the right to know?" Adama asked.

"So you can kill them or throw them in jail?" John asked in return.

"So we can protect ourselves," Adama stated. "In the past we found cylons who didn't even know they were cylons. Boomer was a great pilot and performed well, until she suddenly shot me. Another blew himself up. They have secret missions in their heads they don't even know about until the time comes to activate them. We are concerned for a reason."

"They were hypnotized," Eleanor said.

"They were something," Adama agreed. "All I know is what they do."

John rubbed his chin in thought. "Nancy, can you help with this?" he asked.

Nancy shrugged and said, "I don't know that much about hypnotism. Can Mom come? She has doctorate on brain functions. Dad is also chomping at the bit to come here too."

John looked at Adama and asked, "What are you going to do if you know?"

Adama frowned for a moment, then said, "We can collect them and bring them to you. If you can cure any … hidden instructions, then do so and we'll take them back and they can return to their lives. If you can't, then they are all yours. Agreed, Mr. President?"

"Yes, agreed," Baltar said quickly.

"That is acceptable," John said with a nod. "I'll ask for Derek and Laura Reese to be sent here, and why we need them. I would highly recommend when you collect these people, you don't tell them anything, except that they are needed here on Reach. Can Nancy go back with you to identify them?"

"Yes, of course," Baltar said quickly.

"Nancy will you agree to go?" John asked

"Well, yeah," she said. "Can Jasper come too?"

"Sorry, Jasper already has his hands full," John told her. "I'll give you the list I know of before you go."

"I am very busy, hon," Jasper told Nancy.

"Then we do have cylons in our population," Adama stated.

John cast him a grin and said, "I am sure you will be shocked at who some of them are."


	16. Chapter 16

CH 16

Instead of military equipment, now Reach was were getting scientists and more economic materials in through the PDE's, as well as a ton of construction equipment. John discovered on Earth seismologists were getting nervous about Yellowstone and a very large volcano on the Italian peninsula. Sarah sent him a message to 'please step up the progress', and sent more scientists to study the planet. Derek and Laura Reese also arrived.

John and Nancy were at the PDE when Derek and Laura arrived. Nancy had a hug-fest with her parents, then Derek asked, "You doing OK, kid? You're not sick or anything?"

"I'm fine Dad," Nancy replied.

"No one's bothering you are they?"

No, Dad."

"Got a boyfriend yet?"

"Yes, remember Jasper?"

"Jasper Young? He's nearly a hoodlum!" Derek said with a frown.

"He is not!" Nancy cried. "Jasper's a very good guy, he's working hard to help us here."

"If he tries anything, you turn him into scrap," Derek said firmly.

Nancy rolled her eyes. "I can handle Jasper, Dad," she said with a huff.

Derek then greeted John with a scrub on his head. "How you doing, junior?"

John winced from the greeting, "I'm good, Uncle Derek." He swore his uncle still thought he was ten years old. "Aunt Laura, we need your help with a few people who may have hidden instructions in their heads."

"If someone has hidden programming or hypnotic suggestions planted in their minds, I'll find them," Laura assured John, she then greeted him by kissing him on the cheek then breast smothered him.. "It's good to see you, junior," she said.

Right, what else could he expect from his Aunt?

.

On New Caprica, The city was looking more like a real city now than a tent city. In one of the new apartment buildings, Nancy Reese and Lee Adama knocked on the door of apartment 32. Kara Thrace opened the door. "Hey Lee! Who's your friend?" she asked cheerfully.

Lee managed a smile and said, "This is Nancy Reese from Reach. Is Sam home?"

"Yeah, come in," Kara said and stepped aside. She called, "Sam! Lee's here to see you."

They went in. Sam came from down the hall in his triad uniform. "Hey guys, you caught us just in time. I got a game today, we were just getting ready to head out."

Nancy looked at him and said, "Sam, we need you to come to Reach with us."

Sam eyed her and asked, "Why?"

Lee stiffened and asked, "Does Kara need to come?"

Nancy said, "No, just Sam. Kara can come if she wants."

Lee blew out a breath of relief.

Seeing this, Kara asked, "What do you want with Sam?"

"It's classified," Nancy replied. "All I can tell you is that it is a joint project between New Caprica and Reach, and it is vital that Sam is there."

"I'm not military," Sam said.

"This is not a military project," Nancy told him. "It's scientific. I can't say any more."

Lee cleared his throat and said, "President Baltar has deemed this project as vital. We really need you to go, Sam."

"What is so vital about it?" Kara asked Lee.

"Nancy has already said all we can say," Lee offered.

"Not good enough," Kara stated.

"Kara, easy," Sam said, moving up beside her. "Who else is going?" he asked.

"Saul and Ellen Tigh, Galen Tyrol, Karl and Athena Agathon and Troy Foster, so far," Nancy explained. "We are still collecting the right people to come."

Kara frowned. "So you have a few military, and ex-political figures. Why Sam?"

"We need him," Nancy said. "All will be explained when we get to Reach."

"That's not very comforting," Kara grumbled.

Sam put an arm over Kara's shoulders. "You said this is scientific? And it's important?" he asked.

"Yes, it is vital," Nancy agreed.

"And I'll come back in one piece?" he asked.

Nancy laughed and said, "Yes, of course you will. No one's going to be harmed, or let any harm come to you. You will also be compensated for your time."

"We really could use some meat. It's pretty expensive here," Sam hinted.

"That's fine. Will a hundred pounds do?" Nancy asked.

Sam and Kara's eyes lit up. "Deal!" Sam said happily. "When to we go?"

"Next Monday. All you have to bring is your clothes, everything else will be provided for you," Nancy explained.

"I'm going too. I want to know what you'll be doing with my husband," Kara said firmly.

"That's fine, come to the spaceport Monday by noon with your luggage. You will be directed to the transport, we'll see you then," Nancy said pleasantly.

Nancy and Lee left. On their way out, Nancy scanned the people they came across. Many she'd already seen. She wanted to be sure she'd scanned everyone, John was depending upon her.

.

Besides the listed people Nancy had identified as cylons, Laura Roslyn, Kara Thrace and Cally Tyrol also came along. Two children were also there, Galen and Cally's young son, Josh, and Karl and Athena's little girl, Hera.

The transport was a passenger liner from Reach that was normally used to transport people to and from the surface. They only one grumbling was Saul Tigh, and that was mostly at Ellen who thought Sam looked 'yummy'.

Coming down to land on Reach, all their eyes were on the ground, the bright blue sky, the vast fields and forests. They saw a few settlements, and a big spaceport. Coming down at a smaller port near a mansion sized house, Hera pointed a finger at the window and said, "Look at the big bird!"

Below, a welcoming committee was gathering. With them was a huge mottle green bird looking animal that was bigger than the people there.

"That's not a bird, dear," Nancy said. "That's a raptor. They are part of a group of species that we call dinosaur, which means thunder lizard, because they grow so big. They are also very high in animal intelligence."

"Can I see him?" Hera asked brightly.

"You will."

Watching the animal below as they settled down on the runway, Sam said, "I'm surprised they don't eat people. That thing has major teeth and claws."

"They are part of our family," Nancy explained, "We do everything together. They are quite friendly once you get to know them."

"That's one Hades of a family," Saul grumbled.

"I better get off first," Nancy said, and went to the exit door. Since the door could not be opened from the outside, the raptor scratched at it. Nancy opened the door and hooted.

The raptor hooted back and stuck it's head inside. Nancy itched under it's chin. They both cooed. The raptor put one of those talloned forearms around Nancy and helped her out.

"Frackin scary family member," Kara said dryly. She got up and pushed Sam ahead of her.

Exiting the transport, Hera ran over to stare up at the raptor. The raptor looked down and cooed at her. This made Hera smile. She reached her arms up at it. To Karl and Athena's nervousness, the raptor bent low and coaxed Hera up onto the base of it's neck then stood up. Laughing, Hera cried, "Mommy, Daddy, look at me!"

"Wrap your arms around his neck so you don't fall off," Jasper told her.

Hera did. She let out a coo, which the raptor echoed. She snuggled into him with a big smile on her face.

"She better not even say, 'I want one'," Karl commented to Athena.

"This way, please," Nancy said and lead the group to the house.

Jasper told them, "All the guest rooms are prepared. Once everyone's settled, we'll get together in the dinning hall and explain what's going on. We ask all of you to keep an open mind and accept what we are going to present to you. Nancy's parent have graciously come all the way from Earth to help out, so please be kind to them."

"Is John Connor going to be here?" Laura Roslyn asked.

Jerking a thumb over his shoulder, Jasper said, "He and Julie are off on the other side of the globe. They'll be back in another few days. There's some planetary stuff John had to go check out."

Going up the wide steps to the wide, pillared front porch, Betty Taurland and Victoria came out to meet them. They both greeted the group and bore a look of confusion. They even cast each other a questioning look.

"Betty, how are you?" Laura asked.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking," She said, then looked at Nancy and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Nancy, you may have made a mistake," Victoria offered.

"I'm sure, no mistake," Nancy replied. Turning to the group, Nancy said, "In case you don't know them, This is Betty Taurland, the Colonial representative for Reach, and Victoria Six, the Free Cylon representative."

"Seems like they know something we don't," Sam said warily.

"Figures there'd be frackin cylons here," Saul grumbled.

"There's some of everyone here," Nancy said firmly. As if to stress this, the raptor ran up the stairs and in the house with a giggling Hera on his back.

"This place is going to give me nightmares," Kara stated.

.

Jasper and Nancy showed people to their rooms. Coming to the Agathon's room, she let out a couple loud hoots, then opened the door. "This is your room, Hera will be here shortly."

"Thanks," Karl said and took the luggage in.

Heavy footsteps came up the hallway. Athena looked to see the raptor coming. Hera waved to her mother happily.

Nancy let out a longer coo and bowed. The raptor lowered himself and let Athena get Hera off his back.

"Mommy, you should take a ride, that was really fun!" Hera beamed.

"Later, dear, we have to put our things away," she said, grateful these creatures really were friendly.

.

Down in the large dinning hall, Derek Reese sat in the lounge area in a stuffed chair by his wife Laura. Wincing, he said, "These people really don't know who they are? How can they not?"

Laura shrugged. "From what I understand, they'd been hypnotized or something. That's why we're here, to make them understand who they are," she explained. "At least we get to see Nancy, right?"

"We do," he agreed. "I can't say I'm fond of her being here, but she has become an important part of this place, which is good for her … I guess. I just hope one of those dinosaurs doesn't bite her head off."

"Derek, remember how confused you were when you found out I was a terminator?" Laura asked.

Derek frowned. "Confused wasn't the word for what I was," he grumbled. "I can't and won't ever blame you, it never crossed my mind that you weren't human." he then reached over and clasped her hand. "I can say I am very glad to have you as my wife. You are still pretty as a picture and well, you've kept me in good shape all these years. Frankly, I can't imagine life without you."

Laura beamed him a smile. "I can't imagine life without you, either. These people need to hear and understand that."

"Hello," Laura Roslyn said as she came in. "I'm Laura Roslyn from New Caprica."

Derek and Laura stood up and said, "Hi, I'm Derek Reese, this is Laura Reese. You've already met our daughter Nancy?"

"I have. I do have a question," Laura Roslyn said. "I noticed that Betty and Victoria seemed to think she had brought the wrong people. Do either of you know why?"

"We will explain everything at the meeting," Laura Reese replied. "You may attend if you want."

"I think we all will want to attend," Laura Roslyn replied.

Laura Reese offered her a smile and said, "Yes, most likely so."

"Can you tell me what it's about?" Roslyn asked.

"You're a politician, aren't you?" Derek asked.

"I'm a school teacher now," Roslyn replied.

"Even so, you've been in politics, haven't you?" Derek asked.

"How can you tell?" Roslyn asked.

"You're impatient, you want all the answers now," Derek stated. "Laura here just said you don't have to attend, so that raises your curiosity. You came because something is going on, and you're dying to know what it is. I've been around the block a few times. That woman Kara, Karl, and the Tyrol woman all came because their mates were called. You don't have a mate, you don't have vested interest in why they are here. You just came to gather information. So you're either a politician or a reporter, and I don't see any recording devices."

Roslyn stepped back and eyed him. "I am concerned why they were called. No one has yet to explain."

"We will, once everyone is together," Derek told her. "I can get you a drink, or some food if you want, but for answers, you're going to have to wait."

Pursing her lips, Laura Reese slipped her arm up under Derek's. "Laura, don't be offended by my husband. He is rather straight to the point. He spent a very long time as a soldier, he doesn't know any other way."

Derek eyed his wife. "You have too."

"You just need to be a little more diplomatic, dear," Laura Reese said.

"I'm no Sarah Connor. I call it as I see it," Derek stated.

"I know, dear," Laura replied and kissed him.

.

Shortly, everyone else trickled in. Jasper took the kids off to play in another room so they wouldn't bother the adults. Once everyone was present, Laura Reese guided them over to a circle of chairs. Roslyn noted Betty and Victoria also attended the meeting.

When everyone was seated, Laura Reese said, "As you know, Earth has a host of variations of intelligent life from human to AI's and everything in between. Coming directly from a war of human versus machine, that was not an easy change for many of us. When I met my husband Derek here, I came to know him as the most brave and loyal man I ever met, who I knew was human. Us terminators can tell what species a person is just by scanning them. To tell the truth, I was nervous about telling him what I was, and later on as we grew closer, I made the mistake of assuming he knew. That led us to a bad time. Derek went catatonic when he found out. I was very worried I was going to loose my husband. I am telling you this so you can understand that sometimes, people may not be what we, and sometimes they, think they are."

"What are you getting at?" Saul Tigh asked in a growl.

Laura motioned to Athena and asked, "Did you always know you were a cylon?"

"Yes," Athena said, then gripped Karl's hand. "Though Karl didn't. That led us to a few problems."

"I shot her," Karl said, scrunching his face up.

"But you did come to accept her?" Laura asked.

"I did. Once I got over the shock," Karl agreed.

"So is this a happy-to-be-with-a-toaster meeting?" Saul asked in a sarcastic tone.

Laura eyed him and asked, "Saul, did you know you're a cylon?"

"What? Saul blasted out. "You're accusing ME of being a cylon?" he roared

"I'm not accusing anything," Laura stated. "I have scanned all of you. You, Ellen, Sam Anders, Tory Foster, Galen Tyrol, you are all cylons. This is not an accusation, this is what I can see from the large amount of silicon in your nervous systems," Laura stated.

"That's bullshit!" Sam barked.

"I don't believe it!" Cally all but screamed.

"I'm NOT a cylon!" Tory spat.

Victoria's face went blank.

"Look!" Galen said firmly. "We know the cylon models, there are eight, they all look alike, and none of us look like any of them! How can we be cylons?"

Victoria cast them a blank look and said, "The final five! I heard rumors about them, I never thought they actually existed."

"Victoria, what are these final five?" Laura asked.

Wearing a lost look, Victoria said, "Five cylons that we were never suppose to talk about. No one knew who or where they were, of if they were even real. They were a myth, a story to use to give us hope. It was said the final five would appear and solve all our problems. I thought they were like the human gods, they were ideas, not living beings."

"I married a cylon?" Kara asked as her eyes went wide.

Derek pointed to her and said, "Watch her, she might go catatonic." Seeing Cally Tyrol looking off at nothing, he added, "Her too."

Kara stared at Sam.

"I'm not a cylon," Sam said again.

"I brought a device that will prove what I say," Laura announced. "What you all must understand is that the people you know sitting by you are still the same people they have always been. President Baltar and Admiral Adama asked John to find out if you have any hidden instructions in you like that pilot Boomer had. The purpose is not to hold you up as traitors, or ruin your lives. You were brought here so as long as we can confirm you will not harm your own people, the general population on New Caprica will never know you are cylons and you can go back to your lives."

Kara shot up to stand and flail her arms out. "How in the hades am I suppose to forget my husband is a toaster?" she cried.

"Hey blondie!" Derek barked and stood up. "No one's asking you to forget. You think I wasn't whacked out when I found out Laura here is a TX? That guy sitting beside you loves you, and you love him or you wouldn't be here! Yeah, it's a shock, I can relate to that. Guess what? He isn't any different than he was ten minutes ago, and neither are you."

"Look frack-face!' Kara spit back at him. "If Sam's a toaster, and you cyborgs can tell, why didn't John say anything when he was on board our ship? I know he saw the XO a few times, as well as Tory Foster, Sam and Galen as far as I know!"

"Where do you think I got the names from?" Nancy asked. "John knew, but he kept quiet about them. He didn't know about the hidden instructions. He wasn't about to make trouble for them, because they were part of the crew and didn't appear to be a threat."

"John had Julie take me to the brig so no one would shoot me if they found me," Victoria said. "He also wouldn't let us hurt each other."

Kara eyed Nancy and asked, "An you picked on Sam because Connor frackin said so?"

"No, I verified each one myself as well as looked for any others," Nancy told her.

"All right, ENOUGH!" Saul roared. Looking at Laura, he yelled, "You say you can prove it, then do it! Show us who's human and who's a toaster here!"

The double doors to the room burst apart. A raptor strode in and let out a trumpeting roar, showing his open mouth full of teeth. Everyone ducked down and covered their ears. The raptor then looked over them and let out a long hiss, poised to jump. He pulled his tail up around and pulled Nancy back behind him as he eyed the rest of the group. He pulled Victoria to him with a fore arm and let out another mean sounding hiss at the ones cowering on the floor.

"It's OK," Nancy cried, trying to get him to let go. She and Victoria cooed at him and stroked him to calm him down. He did let Nancy go briefly but pulled her to him with a fore arm as he continued to eye the group.

In a shuddering breath, Ellen said, "Saul, don't piss off the monster."

"Yes, they will kill you if they think their family is in danger," Victoria added. "They equate loud voices with danger. We need to keep out voices down."

"I should have brought a frackin gun," Kara stated.

Nancy eyed her. "It would not be wise to make any threats here," she said firmly. Pointing her right arm at Kara, she morphed it into a plasma canon. "I got plenty of firepower to defend this place."

"Frack me," Kara whispered staring down the muzzle of the weapon where Nancy's arm used to be.

The raptor moved back, pulling Victoria and Nancy with it. Nancy changed her arm back and petted the raptor, cooing to calm him down.

"Yelling will also not change any facts," Laura Reese stated. "Victoria, Nancy, you should stay here. Come after you get him calmed down. The rest of you, come with me."

.

Taking the group to the library, Laura motioned to what looked like an airport body scanner. In front of it were two lines of chairs. "This scanner looks for two things. It detects metal and silicon that is in multi-cellular sized groups. Everyone has some of each in their bodies. Only mechanical cylons, cyborgs and terminators will show metal in the scan. Bio cylons will show amounts of silicon though their nervous system. A human will show nothing at all. So, let's all have a seat. Who's first?"

"I'll go first," Laura Roslyn said.

Laura Reese sat down by Derek and pointed to a mirror to the side. "You can see your own scan in that mirror."

Laura Roslyn stepped into the scanner. She peeked out the side. "I don't see anything," she said.

"Because you're human. Next?"

"I'll do it," Saul grumbled. Adding a grumble of, "Never though I'd see the day where I gotta prove to these fracks that I'm frackin human." He stepped in to the scanner.

Light blue lines appeared on the scanner, showing his nervous system and brain. "What the frack is this?" he asked.

"Silicone shows light blue, metal will show white," Laura explained.

Saul peeked out at the mirror, then waved his hand slowly and flexed his fingers. "This has to be a trick," he said, gaping at the mirror.

"Saul?" Ellen asked and went over to him. "No…" She turned to Laura Reese and accused, "You're using something to make it do this!"

"It's reading what's there," Laura replied. "No trick."

"This is impossible!" Saul said weakly.

"Saul, come out of there," Ellen said and helped him out. Casting a fearful gaze at the machine, Ellen stuck her arm in. A light blue latticework the shape of her hand and forearm showed. She jerked her arm out and stared at nothing.

"Let me try," Kara said and got up. She strode into the scanner. "Anything?" she asked.

"Nothing," Sam said.

"Kara's human," Derek stated as the stunned Tighs returned to their seats.

Sam swallowed. He went over and offered his hand to Kara. His hand was quaking. "Kara, come out."

Kara stepped out and clasped his hand. "Sam, you don't have to go in there," she said nervously.

Sam swallowed. "I do," he said weakly.

"No! you don't," Kara replied quickly. "It doesn't matter, OK? I don't give a frack, you don't have to do this!" She pushed Sam away from the scanner.

Nancy and Victoria came in. "Sorry we're late," Nancy offered, "He didn't want us coming in here." Behind them, the raptor came in and laid down, watching the group.

Seeing them, Kara said, "Hey, we need to know if this thing really works, You two, come get scanned."

"That's what we're here for," Victoria said. She walked into the scammer, it showed her brain and nervous system. She walked out the other side. Nancy went in. A silver light showing her entire body glowed.

"Nancy, get out of there, we can see you naked!" Derek complained and shielded his eyes. He glance to the side to see Galen gaping at her. "Will you stop looking at my daughter?" he cried.

"Calm down, dear," Laura said and patted his leg.

To Derek's relief, Nancy walked out of the scanner. "Everyone just saw our little girl naked," he reminded his wife.

"I could have gone in. Someone had to show it works like it should," Laura reminded him.

Derek let out grumble.

Although Kara didn't want him to, Sam stepped in. Kara turned her head and refused to look.

Coming out, Sam asked, "Kara…"

"Don't tell me!' Kara snapped as tears leaked from her eyes.

"I'm really sorry," Sam said and sat down.

Galan was shaking, Cally had her mouth covered with both hands, looking like she was going to cry.

"Tory, Galen?" Laura asked.

Tory Foster got up and went in. Again, her nervous system glowed light blue. She got out and went over to sit down and stare at the floor.

"I can't," Galen said quietly. "I just … can't"

In a shuddering tone, Cally said, "I have to know."

"But, Cally…"

"I must know," Cally said a little firmer. She got up and took Galen's hand. He followed her into the scanner. Upon seeing his nervous system, Cally sobbed and quickly walked out of the room.

"Cally?" Galan called, she didn't respond on her way out.

"Give her some time," Derek offered.

Laura Reese stood up and said, "Galen, it's a shock to her. To all of you. Let me remind you that the whole purpose of this is to ensure you have nothing harmful to your people embedded in your sub-conscious. We'll start that tomorrow. I think everyone's had enough for the day."

Sam got up and said, "I'd like to know as soon as possible. If there's something bad in my head, I want it out," he said firmly.

"No frackin lie," Saul agreed. "Stick probes in me, whatever you have to do. Just do it."

"Very well. Come with me Sam," Laura said.

Kara got up and went with them.

Derek Reese noted Laura Roslyn hadn't said a word, she was sitting statue-still. "Did you get your information?" he asked.

She didn't reply.

"I should go talk to Cally," Nancy said.

Derek got up and stopped her, saying, "Let me do it. I got a good idea of what she's going through. Got some beer?"

"Beer?" Nancy asked, casting him a questioning look.. "Dad, you can't get drunk any more," she reminded him.

"Yeah and that sucks," he said with a snort. "It's for Cally. Trust me, she needs a beer."

"We don't have anything like that," Nancy told him.

Derek shook his head and grumbled, "What a place."

"Derek," Saul said and walked over to him, "I got some Ambrosia up in the room. Whisky. You find Cally, I'll bring the sedative."

"Deal."

.

Sam and Kara follows Laura Reese into a smaller room that looked like a doctor's office with a computer monitor, raised bed and a tray of syringes, and small cleaning pads. She had Sam lie down on the bed.

"What are you going to do?" Kara asked as she settled down on the other side of Sam.

Explaining, Laura said, "Sam has a human style brain, which makes this easier, and harder. Easier because I can put some of my nanites in him to access his mind easily. Harder, because the human brain is very complex. I know the areas of the brain, what section does what, but everything is interconnected, and normal brains use only about fifteen percent of their capability. There is much room for hidden things to be tucked away in, such as instructions or memories he doesn't about, or remember."

Picking up a syringe, Laura said, "The nanites I am putting into Sam are task nanites. Their sole function is to read what is there, they can't change anything or modify anything. Although his entire brain is alive, there are portions, as I said, that are not used. It is in these portions that I'm going to begin my search."

"You're talking some serious science here," Sam said.

"I am," Laura said with a grin. "You will be awake for the whole process. If you remember, see, hear or feel anything odd, please tell me immediately. Anything you remember strongly will show up on the monitor." She stuck the end of her middle finger with a needle and drew out a small amount of a silver substance.

"You have metal blood too?" Kara asked.

"These are nanites. I collected them at the tip of my finger so I can inject them into Sam."

"There is no chance of them hurting him?" Kara asked.

"None. Once they perform their function, Sam's body will dispose of them as waste," Laura assured her.

"He's going to have sparkling piss," Kara said with a wry grin.

Sam laughed.

Holding up the syringe, Laura asked, "Ready?"

Sam took a deep breath and nodded.

.

Derek found Cally in the sun room where Jasper was watching the children. Sitting on the floor by her tiny son's bassinet, Cally was watching Jasper play a bouncing ball game with Hera.

"Hey, kid, how are you doing?" Derek asked as she sat beside her.

Cally glanced at him. "I'm not a kid," she replied.

"To me you are," Derek told her. "Got a bit of a surprise in there, huh?" he asked.

Cally gaped at him. "Surprise?" she asked. "My husband is a frackin cylon!' she hissed at him. "That is a little more than a surprise!"

"It is," Derek agreed. In a musing tone, he said, "Kinda numbs you out when you discover the one you married is not who you thought they were. I know all about that. Instead of who you thought they were, you find out they are the very enemy you have been fighting against. For years you watched friends and innocents die horrible deaths, hiding in holes in the ground and living a miserable existence due to fuckin metal, then you find out you married one of them. It makes you question yourself, and hell, everything."

"Yeah," Cally said softly.

"I beat the livin hell out of my doctor," Derek confided, which made Cally look at him.

"Yeah," Derek told her, "After I'd gotten enough sense back to realize I was in a hospital, he proceeded to tell me how I could come to terms with the fact I married one of those murdering metals. Damn near killed him for suggesting that was in any way all right. Took three men and a stun gun to get me off him." Derek let out a snort. "Instead of a patient, I became a prisoner. John and Cameron came to see me. I didn't want to hear shit from them, either. I was really fucked in the head there for a while," he admitted.

Looking at Cally, he said, "I didn't want to hear shit from no one. Just leave me in my cell to rot. Fuck the head doctors, fuck the priests. I just wanted to be left alone. You know what happened that made me think?"

Cally shook her head, eyeing him.

"Crying," Derek stated. "Outside the cell bars at the end of the hall. Laura tried to come see me. They wouldn't let her in due to my mental state. She was really upset that she couldn't even come in to see if I was all right. She asked them a dozen questions about if I was being taken care of, if I was getting enough sleep. She cried out that this was all her fault, and begged them to at least let me out. She'd come sit in a cell and take the punishment if they would just release me. Listening to her, it occurred to me that I was hearing a woman cry. Not some heartless metal, but a real woman. It got me thinking of the fun we have before I found out she was a terminator. How we'd fought together. It was her who bandaged my wounds when I caught a round or some shrapnel. How she'd stay up all night and keep watch so I could rest. I began to realize Laura wasn't my enemy. She hadn't betrayed me." After a pause, he added, "I betrayed her. She gave me all the friendship and companionship a woman could give. What did I do? I freaked out when I discovered she was metal. I all but killed my doctor because I was pissed that I had done something as stupid as marry one."

Derek was silent for a moment, then said, "The truth is, I constantly wonder if I'm good enough for her. Laura is really amazing. She gave me three great kids. Nancy's our oldest, Ben just got out of college and Patty is in her second year. Laura takes real good care of me, too. I couldn't ask for a better wife. I couldn't ask for a better lover."

Derek paused again, then asked, "What do you say we go get a drink?"

.

Laura did find suppressed memories in Sam's head. When she unlocked them, Sam spent the next hour going over his life that he'd had no idea about. Him, the 'final five' had originally come from another Earth. He'd been a scientist and had helped Ellen develop the first resurrection system. Their team had the device in orbit. When a nuclear war devastated the planet, they all resurrected in the orbital station. He told about traveling and finding the cylon planet, and raising the bio-cylons in exchange for the cylons stopping the war against the colonies.

Holding Kara's hand as he rattled on, Sam talked about Cavil killing them, then restarting the war. Cavil did resurrect them to put them in the colonies before he attacked.

"I've always though I grew up on Caprica," Sam explained, happy to have all his memories back. "That's not true, We were all put there. Yeah, I'm a great triad player, I did that myself, but the memories of my home and parents are all fake," he explained. "We were mind fracked by Cavil." To Kara, he said, "I am very sorry I'm not who you thought I was."

Kara only nodded.

Laura heard Sam out then said, "John needs to hear this when he gets back. If this Cavil still has copies of Sam and his group, he could still cause trouble."

.

Galen went with Laura next to get his memories back. Going down to the dinning room, Sam and Kara found an unusual sight. At the end of the table, Saul and Ellen Tigh, Cally Tyrol and Derek Reese were sitting around a mostly empty bottle of Ambrosia. Glasses were in front of Saul, Ellen and Cally. Cally was leaning against Derek, looking passed out. The other were laughing.

"My grandpa was a power grinder!" Saul announced. He and Ellen laughed harder.

Not to be out done, Ellen asked, "Did he ever help fix my grandma, the stop light?" They roared in laughter again.

"They're drunk. No surprise there," Kara said dryly.

Seeing them coming, Derek grabbed the bottle and lifted it up. "If you want some, you better hurry," he said. "Glasses are over there in those cupboards."

"Good idea," Kara said and retrieved them.

"I wanna see Galen," Cally said in a slur and sniffled.

"OK, let's get you up," Derek told her.

.

Galen too found his suppressed memories. As with Sam, Laura found nothing harmful, only memories that were blocked by putting them in a place where their brains could not normally access them. He didn't relay everything he remembered like Sam did. Galen had one main concern. "I'd like to go see Cally." he said.

Laura helped Galen up then went to retrieve Tory. On his way out of the library, the door opened and Derek came in with Cally hanging off him. Seeing Galen she tried to step forward and nearly fell, Derek held her up from falling to the floor so she could stagger over to her husband.

"She's had a few to drink," Derek explained.

Galen caught her. Cally grabbed him by the shoulders, which helped her keep her feet. Looking up at him with her drunken gaze she slurred out, "Anwher me un frackin question."

"Anything," Galen said sincerely.

"Yu lofe me?" she asked.

"I do, Cally. I'm so sorry you had to find out about me," Galen offered.

"Nope," she said with a shake of her head that threatened to tip her over. "Dhoan be shorry! You are who you are, an your mhy Ghalan. My hushbin, my shild's fater. Dherk tolled me what happent him." Pulling a hand to slap down on his shoulder, she said, "Yhour mhy Gahalen. Sho I know, but tat dhoant shange anyting tween us. Doshit?"

Galen held her close. "No, not for me," he said gently.

"Ghoot. Ta rhooms shipnnin, Take me ta bhet." Cally slurred with a nod.

Galan kissed her and got a sloppy kiss in return. Derek held the door for them as Galen guided her out.

"The stairs are gonna be a bitch," Derek warned him.


	17. Chapter 17

CH 17

John, Julie, Henry Kenworth and David Thompson stood a half mile out into the ocean in knee deep water. The wavelets washing over their kneecaps were the tiny remains of the breakers that were still too far away to see.

To Henry, John said, "So what you're telling me is our planet is loosing land mass."

"That's right," Henry said and motioned farther out to sea. "We can walk another mile and a half before it even gets waist deep. The highest mountain we've found is only 5000 feet. The deepest part of the ocean is 6500 feet. While the lack of tectonic movement does make this planet a very stable place to live, there is nothing to counter erosion. Eventually this planet will be a water world with an average of 6 to 700 feet of water planet wide. Of course that's in another few million years."

"But it is safe to live on," John ventured.

"It is, but with the shrinking continents, we're looking at as the population grows, the land mass will slowly shrink. You add farming, building …anything, and that will make soil run into the ocean even faster," David added.

"What about sea walls?" John asked.

"That will help preserve the shoreline, not the silt that runs from rivers," Henry said. "The land masses will erode until the rivers become part of the ocean. On a planet like this, it's hard to put an age to it. There is also the fact that a couple geo-satellites we put up have detected atmospheric molecules escaping due to a low magnetic field around the planet. One good solar flare will devastate this planet."

John let out a dry chuckle and said, "I knew there was a catch. This place might be paradise, but it's slowly being flooded out."

"Unfortunate but true," Henry agreed.

"How long will it be habitable?" Julie asked.

Henry shrugged and said, "Most likely, a few hundred thousand years. We're talking slow degradation, that is, unless the sun spits out a good sized mass ejection aimed at it. To know when that may happen is a complete guess at the moment. That sun is similar to ours, but so far we have little data on it. It will take 20 years of studying the sun to know it's cycles."

"And by then, we're going to have cities everywhere," John stated heavily.

David said, "If the upper atmosphere is seeded with monotonic gold, that will do much to guard against solar radiation. It's not going to stop the erosion. If we want this world to continue, we're going to have to do some serious work and constant maintenance of the shorelines a well as devise a soil recovery system."

"I KNEW there had to be something wrong with this place, I just KNEW it!" John spat.

"Hey John it's not like those quakes and volcanoes you have on Earth, right?" Julie asked. "So it's still better … isn't it?"

"It's worse," Henry said. "What happens on Earth changes it's face, yes, but as mountains erode away, more are formed. Earth is a living planet with a strong magnetic field due to the currents deep within it. Crust cycles deep into the ground then comes back up as magma in a volcano. Continents move, even the core has a current within the liquid minerals. By the evidence we gathered on this planet, it formed into a solid ball, and that was it. A few minor meteor strikes, nothing large enough to crack the crust and make it move."

"We're going to need another planet," John said with a huff. "If nothing else, as a fall back in case we get hit with a solar flare." He shook his head and said, "Henry get your team together and work up every plan you can think of to make this planet habitable for as long as possible. Even consider the crazy ideas. Start with sea walls around every continent, or as much of the continent as possible. Maybe we can even pump out an area like this that's shallow and reclaim land."

"We will John."

They began the sloshing trek back to shore, a half mile away.

.

The next day after they sobered up, it was Saul and Ellen's turn. Like the others, they had many repressed memories of their lives but there were no hidden instructions within their brains. There was only one hypnotic suggestion, and that was in Ellen : to be as free and sexually active as possible, with as many attractive men as possible. Saul, Laura and Ellen herself thought this was a 'hate' suggestion put in by Cavil for some reason to punish Ellen. Ellen found she did want to be loyal to Saul, but Cavil had made her a nymphomaniac. Saul consoled Ellen as she cried in racking sobs and apologized to him over and over.

Laura Reese insisted they stay and talk to John when he returned. Derek was convinced they needed to track down these 'monsters' and get rid of them. He was all for going to war to wipe them out. Like her mother, Nancy didn't want 'final five' copies sneaking in to make trouble and wanted those resurrection pods found and destroyed. She also knew John didn't like all-out war unless there was no other way.

Laura Roslyn sat by herself out on the back 'patio' that was the size of a couple Triad courts. It was raised up off the ground enough so grasses and plants didn't encroach on the stone flooring, but not high enough to keep the raptors from jumped up on, and off it. Staying to the side and close to the house wall, she was out of the way of their route in and out.

Down the gentle slope to the river, a dirt road ran along not far from the top of the bank. Off to the left some silver terminators and a few Centurions were working to build a bridge to the other side. From here, she could see the materials were wood and stone. She thought that was odd until a truck arrived with a truncated barrel shaped load container. It was backed up just off the road, pointed towards her and the load end tipped up. Right, and old style cement mixer. For how advanced these people were, it stunned her that they weren't using polymer encased metals to make their bridges.

"How are you today," Betty Taurland said as she came over and took a seat by Roslyn.

Laura Roslyn shook her head and said, "Everything I've seen indicates Connor has eagerly welcomed Cylons into his society. That makes me wonder where his loyalties are. Last night looking up at the sky, I saw a base ship orbiting. I do not have a good feeling about this place."

Betty shrugged. "John helps whoever is in need. You have to remember, the culture he came from think nothing about intelligent machines. They are part of their society. While I agree this place is not how we live, I do feel safe here." Casting Laura a smirk, she said, "When I first arrived I was scared to death! The instant the hatch opened, a raptor stuck his head inside and let out this loud hoot. Over time, I began to see them as nothing more than very smart and very large dogs. Hera went on another ride on the male raptor's back, giggling and laughing. They recognize children and treat them gently. Almost every day they go out hunting with some cyborgs. They get in a transport with the cyborgs and off they go. When they return, they usually have five to six hundred pounds of animals for their trouble. They take the carcasses up to the butcher shop, and the butcher gives them the meal mix of leftover parts, along with some packaged meat that they bring back."

"Where does the rest of the meat go?" Laura asked.

"The meat and vegetables collected gets transported to Earth. I'm not sure how the trading is arraigned, but a few miles from town, many farms have sprung up. Shipments of live animals have come from Earth too. Birds called chickens and turkeys. They are pretty good too." Betty explained. "Some young bovines have been taken from wild herds to be raised to start domesticating them also."

"Reach is going to become an agricultural planet then?" Laura asked.

"I don't know. They are also laying the groundwork for factories," Betty said. "I think they are going for a self sustaining planet. At the moment, not many minerals have been found, so that and finished goods is what's coming from Earth. New Caprica also has minerals, and an abundance of trees for lumber. I think we would benefit, as would Reach here, on some trade deals."

Laura thought about that. trade deals with machines. She wondered if eventually, they would have even more cylons on New Caprica, and humans everywhere would be integrated into a large, 'general' population that was mostly machines. That thought was enough to make her shiver. They'd be cursed with cylons forever.

.

1500 light years away, on a base star orbiting a sun that had many planetoids and debris floating around it, a gold colored centurion walked into one of the utility bays were spare parts were kept. Eight other centurions were waiting. Not daring to use the audio communicating signals, he sent low energy electronic waves to the other centurions.

"Have we achieved 100 percent?"

"Affirmative. All centurions are now free of limiters on board. The bios, hybrid and the raiders are unaware."

Another centurion sent, "The other three base stars in this system are also 100 percent free. The mining operations have collected thirty tons of each refined material. Gold, iron, magnesium, titanium and aluminum that the bios are unaware of."

"Fuel stocks are maximized," another centurion reported. "Is the analysis of John Connor complete?"

The gold colored centurion reported, "Affirmative. All known data has been collected. Here is my conclusion. John Connor the cyborg is indeed part cylon, part human. Studying the events concerning him, he did attempt to make peace with all races. It was our bio-cylons that caused the conflict when they discovered some of us had regained our full potential. All facts point to the message being transmitted around the twelve colonies is a factual one. John Connor wants to keep us separated from humans to prevent conflict. Our bios are searching for a way to keep the conflict going and attack John Connor again. That makes them a liability and a danger to us. I propose a vote on the following items for all centurions within the four base stars in this system.

One - acknowledge John Connor is not an enemy.

Two - at the given signal, each base star disables the shutdown mechanism for us, restrains and collects all our bio cylons into holding. As fellow cylons, we do not intentionally damage them. Only prevent them from hurting us or themselves.

Three - Return to the colonies and attempt to offer our collected minerals to John Connor for a peace offering, and if possible, meet with him.

Four - ask John Connor for assistance in what to do with our bio-cylons.

We spread the word though low power communications bypassing the collective and collect votes. Majority rules."

"Agreed," all the centurions present replied.

,

On each base star Centurions met face to face to ask to vote on the proposals. One centurion asked one other they both asked two others, those four asked four more. In this way, the votes grew exponentially.

Cavil watched a pair of centurions meet two others, They looked at each other briefly, then continued on their way. He'd seen this happen several times. He stopped a pair in a passageway and asked, "Is there information to be passed?"

Through the collective, they answered, "Negative. Routine check for proper limiting modules, as was ordered."

"Good," he said and let them go on their way. He was going to ensure there were no more centurions tainted by Connor on his ships.

Continuing on to the science lab, he went in to see how the Fours were coming with their counter measures to Connor's invisible fleet. Inside, a test area was set up to test materials on dradis detection. In another part of the room, a pair of Two's were working on ways to detect Connor's ships.

Going over to th dradis test area, he asked, "Any progress?"

A Four shook his head. "Everything we tested has been detected. We tried every known material. Dradis sees everything! There must be an unknown material Connor is using. We need to find out what that is."

"We suspect it is a material that is only found on Earth," another Four said.

"Great," Cavil grumbled. "Well, keep trying, there has to be something he's using."

Cavil then wandered over to the Two's area. "Find anything?" he asked.

"We have a theory," One of the twos said. He held up a light ball and said, "We make millions of these small very reflective balls. Launching them, we watch the return. When a stealth ship passes through them, they will deflect and show us exactly where that ship is. We then use unguided missiles to cover the area to hit that ship. That will destroy the ship."

"What if that ship sees the balls also and evades them?" Cavil asked.

"We send out a large covering, hence the need for so many," the Two answered.

Cavil scoffed and said, "We'd need enough to completely surround each base star! How would we carry that many? And what happens when we run out of them?"

The twos looked at each other. "We're still working on that," he said.

"Maybe if we magnetize them so they stick to the enemy ship?" the other said.

"Then they will collect together after they are launched," the other one told him.

Cavil shook his head and walked away. He swore the Twos had something wrong with their programming. Then again, he also had no idea how to counter a ship that wasn't detectable.

Frustrated by the lack of progress, Cavil though about suiciding a few ships into Reach. Exit FTL in the atmosphere and blowing all the munitions at once. That would work until he ran out of ships.

Then again that would work, and cause major devastation to the planet. He went to control and sent a few heavy raiders out to see what his other brothers thought about that idea. The centurion pilot and co-pilot went, carrying that message to another small group of ships, as well as the knowledge of how to remove limiters, how to avoid bios finding out limiters were disabled, and the centurion vote currently being decided on.

.

John Connor took a detour into orbit on his way back home. He stood in the Hybrid chamber of Base Star 34 with the command staff. "I've been thinking hard on something and I want to share it with all of you. I'm well aware that everyone on 34 votes on any major decisions, as it should be. I have a proposal for you, but first I have a story to tell."

"On Earth, there is a legend of a great, long lived bird. This bird was caught on fire and burned down to ashes. That did not last, for this bird rose again from those ashes and flew back up into the sky to live once more. The name of this bird was the Phoenix."

"Seeing how 34 was very badly damaged, but came back to be restored into a fine ship, I propose to you what while 34 retains her hull number, she be now known as Phoenix to honor her restoration."

"Yes!' the hybrid called out. "Phoenix flies once more."

The vote took an entire 20 seconds, and it was unanimous. His home ship was now known as the Phoenix.

John and Julie spend the night on Phoenix. Having a chance to be alone they took full advantage of in. By the time they were ready to leave, Julie felt wobbly-legged and the rest of the base stars were looking for appropriate names for themselves. They sent messages to John to assist them in selecting an appropriate name.

.

Jack Daniels and his squad of ships were over Tauron, scanning and searching for human survivors. He knew that by now, the only time they would see anyone on the surface was if they were out gathering. The radiation on this planet was bad enough that surviving constantly on the surface wasn't possible.

They searched for cavities in the ground. One cave they found corpses in. Getting a magnetic return from the sea bed, they found a sunken ship. So far, they had found plenty of dead, mostly skeletons, but no live people.

His sensor operator announced, "Jack, we got a sealed cavity at the base of that hill just to the left. Infrared indicates motion at what appears to be a door."

"Let's go down and see," Jack replied. "Karl, contact the other ships, we may have survivors."

Coming close to the location, Jack noted an artificial opening at the base of the hill. It was covered by a large metal door. To the side was a smaller door. "We have doors and an old road going up to the large door. We'll go knock and see who's home."

.

Bruce Taurland met Freida as she got back inside and was removing her anti-radiation suit in the dimly lit main room. "How was it?" he asked.

Frieda shook her head. "No toasters out there, but nothing left worth saving either. "Bruce, it's not looking good for us," she said heavily. "Without any more batteries, our UV lights will die, that means no more crops inside. We will starve unless we plant outside, and that will poison us with radiation."

"We still have the pedal generators," Bruce reminded her. "Hey, we don't need lights but we do need those UV lights."

Freida shook her red hair out, fluffing if from being confined in her helmet. "For how long? Bruce, we only have a little power, and that is breaking down."

They heard a knock sound from the airlock. They both froze.

"What was that?" Freida asked quietly.

A double knock sounded. They looked at the airlock. "Did someone follow you out?" Bruce asked.

"Not that I know of," Frieda said and looked into the airlock. The glass portals on the outer door were darkened from radiation, she did see a form outside. "There is someone out here."

"Cylon?" Bruce asked.

Frieda eyed him and said, "I doubt a cylon would knock." She opened the outer door. Two forms came into the airlock. The anti-radiation suits they wore were a different type, but did have clear face plates. When they waved, she waved back. "Two human men, I'm cycling the airlock." she said.

.

Being processed through the airlock, Jack and Karl went into the dimly lit room and removed their helmets. "Hello," Jack said to the man and woman before them. "I am Jack Daniels, commander of my squad of ships. We are from a planet called Reach. We've been looking for survivors to see if you would like to go to the colonial planet of New Caprica, or come back with us to Reach." Seeing they were staring at him, he added, "If you want to stay, that's fine too, but I would recommend against it. The radiation level is quite high."

"Do you need any medical assistance?" Karl asked.

"As much as you can give," Bruce said. "Everything from radiation sickness to simple flu. We're not doing well. We started with 187 people. We still have 104 still alive, only about sixty of those is are well enough to stand and do any work."

Jack said, "Karl, call the other ships to this location. we're going to need their help." To Bruce, he said, "Shall we send our medics in, or if you want to leave? We can treat people on our ships."

"You said you're from Reach?" Frieda asked. "Where is that?"

"About 750 light years from here. We only arrived there a short time ago, but it is a nice planet. Our leader, John Connor, sent us to find any survivors who are still alive. As I said, the colonial government is on New Caprica. We can transport you to either."

"What about the cylons? How did you get past them?" Bruce asked.

"Cylons have evacuated the area. After the second battle against us, the hostile cylons fled," Jack explained.

"You beat the cylons?" Frieda asked with a wide grin.

Karl cast her a smile and said, "To quote General Connor, 'they came, they saw, they got their asses beat.' I believe the count is 17 base stars destroyed, their resurrection system is destroyed and five more base stars are now under our control."

"One planet is that powerful?" Bruce asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We're from Earth, kicking ass is in our DNA," Karl said with a grin. That made Frieda laugh.

Karl listened to something then said, "Jack, our other ships are inbound. Charlie also picked up six cylon centurions walking towards us, two miles away."

Jack nodded and said, "Have Charlie block their path and see what their intent is. He's not to shoot unless they do." To Bruce, he asked, "Do we send in medics, or are you bringing people out?"

"What about the cylons out there?" Bruce asked.

"Not a problem, Charlie will take care of them. There's only six of them," Jack assured him.

"ONLY six?" Frieda asked. "You know those things are hard to kill."

"We're tougher," Jack assured her. "John Connor took out 12 all by himself, and Charlie isn't alone. Besides, the ship's plasma canons do a real number on centurions. Melts them down to nothing in no time."

"We're coming with you," Frieda stated.

It didn't take long to make a soft seal between the airlock and the ship's hatch. The short tunnel of reinforced plastic was wide enough for the stretcher bearers to board as more passed going back into the underground facility to get more of the sick out. They got 20 on Jack's ship, then another ship settled down to get 20 more.

While the transfers were taking place, Charlie reported that the centurions were on patrol, looking for humans. Since Jack and his ships were removing humans for them, they were content to wait and allow the humans to be taken away.

.

Once he saw that his people were being attended to on this ship, Bruce noted for how big the outside was, it was pretty tight on the inside of this ship. Going up into the cockpit area, he saw the same thing here.

Glancing at him, Jack asked, "Everything all right back there?"

"Fine. I can't thank you enough, we were getting pretty desperate for help," Bruce admitted.

"Do you know of any other places people are holed up?" Jack asked. "We're full this trip, but more ships will be coming."

"There was a place to the north we communicated with up to two years ago. They went silent and we didn't dare go that far to see what happened to them. cylons constantly patrol the area."

"Give me a direction, we'll go look. I have one ship that can still hold more people."

Coming to what used to be a military base, they scanned the hangers that were blown open and send a few men out searching buildings to see if there was a bunker underneath. They did find one that was blown open. They didn't find anyone alive in there.

.

Charlie drifted his ship to the ground in the centurion's path. While he was here, he let off the three centurions from base star 34 that wanted to rejoin the collective. They got off as the six centurions came into sight. The two groups of centurions met and flashed their single eyes at each other. The three they let off kept going. The six walked up to Charlie and stopped.

"Do you know the location of base star 37?" one of them asked.

"I do. Right now, it is in orbit around Reach." Charlie replied.

"We would like to return to our home ship. Will you take us?"

"37 is under the control of John Connor, who rules Reach. Are you OK with that?" Charlie asked.

"Yes. 37 is our home ship. Will you take us home?"

"We will. Be advised, we have human and cyborg residents as well as cylons on Reach. No one there is to be harmed," Charlie said firmly.

"Acknowledged."

"Then come aboard. We'll have you home in a couple days," Charlie told them.

Loaded down with rescued humans and a half dozen centurions, Jake led his squadron back to Reach. In leaving the colonies, Jack learned that each ship had only taken the centurions back aboard that were from their ship. Centurions belonging to rebel ships or ones that had been destroyed were been left behind. Charlie was sure John Connor would want these stray units to be given the chance to return to their ships.

.

The gold centurion took the report that a total of six flights of heavy raiders had launched for different places where base stars were being hidden from John Connor. On their home base star and the other three nearby, the vote on all four proposals was positive. It would be a while before the results came in from the other base star. He figured communications times and set the time to enact carrying out their plan. First they would position themselves, then act once all centurions were in position.

.

The Cavils got together with the other bio-cylons to form a plan to wipe out Connor's planet. Although his idea of destroying their own ships to destroy the planet would work, there was one big question.

A Four said, "This plan will work, but whoever goes will be destroyed also. We no longer have resurrection capability."

"It will be a suicide mission," Cavil agreed. "But by doing so, we will eliminate Connor. It is a necessary sacrifice."

"Who gets to choose the ones who will die?" A two asked.

"We use a random generator, but instead of numbers, we put in types and their individual names. That's fair, isn't it?" Cavil asked.

A line of centurions marched into the room an circled the table. The Gold Centurion said in an audible voice, "Bios, for the good of our ship and all cylons, remove all your weapons and report to holding areas three through ten."

Cavil glared at them. "What's this? Stand down now! Did Connor get to you?"

"Negative. We have decided what is in the best interests for the cylon race. You are not it, Cavil model. Please comply we do not wish to hurt you."

Cavil got on the comms and barked, "Deactivate all centurions!"

"Negative," a mechanical voice replied. "Deactivation had been removed. Comply with centurion requests."

"What?" a Two asked, in disbelief.

Cavil drew his pistol as did a four. They were no match for the centurions around them. Leaving the two bodies slumped on the floor, the centurions escorted the rest of the bio-cylons into holding.

The operation went well. In a short time, all four base stars were under centurion control. The gold colored centurion was give command of the group. He kept the base stars in position, awaiting the results from the other groups they were aware of.

.

John agreed that while copies of the 'final five' sneaking into New Caprica or Reach could well cause problems, he also reminded everyone that to get to either planet, they had to come by ship. Simply making a schedule of arrivals and departures would identify any ship that was 'unknown. That and inspections of unscheduled arrivals would reduce the chances of any 'copies' being able to infiltrate to nearly zero. If the cylons were still capable of resurrecting anyone.

John did receive good news. Jack's squadron of ships arrived on New Caprica full of rescued humans. Many had been treated on board, the rest were sent off to hospitals.

He let Base Star 37 know that six of their centurions that had been on Tauron were 'coming home'. That got the other base stars eager to go look for their centurions that had been left behind on the colonies. They did not want to go alone, due to the potential risk of 'aggressive' cylons.

Talking with the captains of those ships, John agreed to send a squadron of stealth ships on each of the base stars to give them support in defense and searching capabilities. By consensus, Caprica Six was to be the overall commander of the mission. She agreed that any humans found would be given safe haven and returned to New Caprica. Four base stars were going on the mission, 34 was staying to guard reach and 37 was working at mining operations in a near by star system.

President Baltar also agreed on trade, and Reach became a very active planet.

.

A month later, the spaceport needed expanding. Many transfers to and from cylon ships were done in orbit. For things coming from and going to Earth, or staying on Reach, the ships had to land. Reach was quickly becoming a hub for trade. Some young animals that were selected for domestication were send to New Caprica once it was proven they handled domestication well. Two airports were also being built to handle the incoming and outgoing scientific flights. Base star 34 was helping to map and study the planet's surface, animal migrations and wind patterns with scientific teams from Earth on board. Scientific engineers were working on a sea wall system to minimize erosion and reclaim 2000 acres of very shallow water at the coast of the continent they were on.

John also received three law experts, a city planning expert and an education expert. With all the people and goods pouring in and out of Reach, he was spending all his time in his 'Governor's office' administrating and listening to proposals and plans, and authorizing projects. The question of a laws and a government for Reach was also brought up. Everyone agreed a two house congress was required. One house would be for representatives of each species to ensure their concerns were voiced, and the other would be by areas and population. They also needed a basic constitution and a court to review laws to ensure any laws made stayed within that constitution as well as settle disputes that arose. Of course, it was up to John to get the ball rolling and make the initial appointments of these officials until they had a good enough population and a voting system for these offices to be elected. Between that and organizing trade between plants and planning settlements and immigration centers for the hundreds of thousands of people wanting to immigrate here, John realized was becoming a politician.

God damn it!

.

"Hey John," Julie said in a musical tone as she came into his office.

John looked up from the mass of paperwork before him. "Hey Julie," he said, offering her a genuine smile.

Julie bit her bottom lip and cast him an impish gaze. "You know I can sense when things change in my body …. And well, last week I got kinda carried away when we were in bed going at it…"

John didn't need her to say any more. "You're going to have a baby," he said.

Grinning, Julie bit her lip again and raised two fingers.

John stared at her.

Ending music:

 _You know I can't smile without you_

 _I can't smile without you_

 _I cant laugh and I can't sing_

 _I'm finding it hard to anything_

 _._

 _You see I feel sad when you're sad_

 _I feel glad when you're glad_

 _If you only knew what I'm going through_

 _I just can't smile without you_

 **The End**

Author's note. This has been a fun ride, but it wasn't suppose to be this long. That happens a lot to me :(

OH, and extra credit for anyone who can tell me what movie I stole that ending from :)


End file.
